excavation

American  

[eks-kuh-vey-shuhn] / ˌɛks kəˈveɪ ʃən /

noun

• excavations
  plural

1. a hole or cavity made by excavating.

2. the act of excavating.

3. an area in which excavating has been done or is in progress, as an archaeological site.

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Synonym Usage

See hole.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonexcavation
  noun
• reexcavation
  noun
• excavational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• excavations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of excavation

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin excavātiōn- (stem of excavātiō ) “a hollowing.” See excavate, -ion

Explanation

Excavation is the act or process of digging, especially when something specific is being removed from the ground. Archaeologists use excavation to find artifacts and fossils. There are many types of excavation, but they all involve digging holes in the earth. Mining for coal, gold, or diamonds all require excavation, and before buildings and houses can be built, there is often some excavation that's done before a foundation can be poured. The Latin source of excavation is excavationem, "a hollowing out," from excavare, "to hollow out," with its roots of ex-, "out," and cavare, "to hollow."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

excavation excavations

Grossi also visited a previously undisclosed site for storing graphite and the location where the reactor stood in eastern Syria, where excavation work is taking place.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

The Saint Simeon monastery itself was subjected to "looting, illegal excavation, military use and neglect", according to site director Abdel Jalil Arabi.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

On the day Al-Zaharnah monitored the excavation, the crews were working at a painfully slow pace, peeling back the pancaked layers of the building one by one.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

Joy Sinnott, who works at Meadows Pharmacy on Liverpool Road South near the excavation site, said the issue had caused "chaos".

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

Much of the ethnic diversity in Chokecherry comes from visiting paleontologists involved in the dinosaur excavation sponsored by Wexford-Smythe University.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

"The discoveries from the excavations, especially coins bearing Homer's likeness, show us that the inhabitants of ancient Smyrna considered the poet to be one of their own," archaeologist Mehmet Akif Erdem said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

"Our excavations may tell us something about the end of Urartu," he said, noting that researchers have found "the traces of a very powerful earthquake."

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

"Restoration work has now begun along with excavations," he says.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

The mission had previously discovered Greek papyri positioned in similar ways during earlier excavations.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

During the 1961–1964 excavations, 110 of the amphorae were brought to the surface.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

Related Words

• dig
• mining
• removal