excavator
Americannoun
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a person or thing that excavates.
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a power-driven machine for digging, moving, or transporting loose gravel, sand, or soil.
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a sharp, spoonlike instrument used for scraping out diseased tissue, as in dentistry.
noun
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a powered machine for digging earth, gravel, sand, etc, esp a caterpillar tractor so equipped
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any person, animal, or thing that excavates
Etymology
Origin of excavator
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the meantime, Interlune is testing an autonomous excavator and building a research factory in Texas.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026
“Gentry Engineering and Gentry were aware of the danger of a rock strike by the excavator and failed to take action to prevent a fire,” the lawsuit alleges.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026
Firefighters used an excavator to remove broken glass and gnarled metal strewn across the site as policemen with pump-action rifles patrolled on motorbike to prevent looting.
From Barron's • Jan. 4, 2026
“We need an excavator or bulldozer to remove the debris, so I can search for my husband and daughter,” Ajjour said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 9, 2025
In the fall, he’d invested a large sum of money in new construction equipment—an excavator, a man lift and a welding trailer.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
