excavator

[ eks-kuh-vey-ter ]

/ ˈɛks kəˌveɪ tər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR excavator ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or thing that excavates.

a power-driven machine for digging, moving, or transporting loose gravel, sand, or soil.

a sharp, spoonlike instrument used for scraping out diseased tissue, as in dentistry.

RELATED WORDS

bulldozer, digger, backhoe

Nearby words

excardination, excaudate, excavate, excavation, excavation of optic disk, excavator, exceed, exceedance, exceeding, exceedingly, excel

Origin of excavator

First recorded in 1805–15; excavate + -or²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for excavator

Nearby, a yellow Caterpillar excavator sits idle next to an opening that once led into a cross-border tunnel.
How Mexico’s Cartels Are Behind the Border Kid Crisis|Caitlin Dickson|July 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For a hundred years or more the explorer and the excavator have been busy in many parts of the world.
Archology and the Bible|George A. Barton
The excavation has been effected by hand, by dredging, and by the Couvreux excavator, figured as below in Engineering.
Scientific American, Vol. XXXIX.--No. 24. [New Series.], December 14, 1878|Various
The excavator will dump 30 feet from the center line of the car, and 26 feet above the track, which is laid on the rock.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 484, April 11, 1885|Various

The small cavity seemed as large as a half bushel; the excavator more the size of an ax; and the sound was equally magnified.
Scientific American Supplement No. 275|Various
Should her fatigue become too great, the excavator leaves the forefront and mingles with the crowd, to polish and dust herself.
The Life of the Fly|J. Henri Fabre

British Dictionary definitions for excavator

excavator

/ (ˈɛkskəˌveɪtə) /

noun

a powered machine for digging earth, gravel, sand, etc, esp a caterpillar tractor so equipped

any person, animal, or thing that excavates

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for excavator

excavator

[ ĕk′skə-vā′tər ]

n.

An instrument, such as a sharp spoon or curette, used in scraping out pathological tissue.