excavate
verb (used with object)
to make hollow by removing the inner part; make a hole or cavity in; form into a hollow, as by digging.
have been excavating
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present perfect progressiveof excavate.present perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that began in the past, has continued continuously, and is still in progress.
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.
Researchers have been excavating the Belgian battlefield site of Napoleon Bonaparte’s last stand, the infamous Battle of Waterloo, since 2012.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 4, 2024
Experts from the Kinneret Institute for Galilean Archaeology at Kinneret College, Israel and Nyack College in New York, have been excavating the site of el-Araj on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
From Fox News ● Jul. 30, 2019
The grave was discovered this spring, on May 18, by Jack L. Davis and Sharon R. Stocker, a husband-and-wife team at the University of Cincinnati who have been excavating at Pylos for 25 years.
From New York Times ● Oct. 26, 2015
Johnson and Travis Rael have been excavating around the now-closed museum in anticipation of a new facility being built later this year.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 24, 2015
During the last four months I have been excavating at this place, the capital of Khuenaten.
From The American Journal of Archaeology, 1893-1 by Various
