excavate

verb

ex·​ca·​vate ˈek-skə-ˌvāt 

excavated; excavating

transitive verb

1

: to form a cavity or hole in

2

: to form by hollowing out

3

: to dig out and remove

4

: to expose to view by or as if by digging away a covering

excavate the remains of a temple

intransitive verb

: to make excavations

Synonyms

• dig
• shovel

Examples of excavate in a Sentence

They excavated an ancient city.

It is the first site to be excavated in this area.

They began excavating the backyard for their new pool.

The excess dirt was carefully excavated.

Recent Examples on the Web

Interview 'Telling the Story of Addiction Doesn’t Always Save You from the Experience Of It': An Interview With Leslie Jamison Chantal Braganza The author of The Recovering on archival addiction narratives, excavating how things get better, and sugar. —Max Ufberg, hazlitt.net, 4 Jan. 2025

The site extends 150 meters (around 500 feet) and includes approximately 200 giant footprints, according to the BBC — though the outlet notes that the tracks could extend even further into areas that have not yet been excavated. —Toria Sheffield, People.com, 4 Jan. 2025

The 12-sided metal object is one of more than 100 excavated throughout Europe. —Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Dec. 2024

This is an alert, terse, and compact novella that excavates family disaster and freedom and shows off Brennan’s deep-staring documentarian eye. —Vogue, 26 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin excavātus, past participle of excavāre "to hollow out, form a hole in," from ex- ex- entry 1 + cavāre "to make hollow, hollow out," verbal derivative of cavus "hollow, concave" — more at hole entry 1

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

excavate

verb

ex·​ca·​vate ˈek-skə-ˌvāt 

excavated; excavating

1

: to hollow out : form a hole in

excavate the side of a hill

2

: to make by hollowing out

excavate a tunnel

3

: to dig out and remove

excavate sand

4

: to uncover by digging away covering earth

excavate an ancient city

excavator

-ˌvāt-ər

noun

Medical Definition

excavate

verb

ex·​ca·​vate ˈek-skə-ˌvāt 

excavated; excavating

transitive verb

: to form a cavity or hole in

an excavated wisdom tooth

intransitive verb

: to make excavations or become hollowed out

an area of infarction in soft tissue often tends to excavate