as in to dig
to hollow out or form (something) by removing earth
workmen are excavating a long tunnel that will eventually replace the aboveground expressway
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of excavate
Crews uncovered the marble slab while excavating the site of the Mentor, a brig owned by Thomas Bruce, the British soldier and diplomat known as Lord Elgin, according to Greece's Ministry of Culture and BBC News, a CBS News partner.
—
Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 19 Mar. 2026
The movie, which also stars Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton and Abigail Breslin, is based on the true story of Ann and Earl Morris, early 20th-century archaeologists who helped excavate and document evidence of the Ancestral Puebloans in the American Southwest.
—Angela Yang, NBC news, 18 Mar. 2026
Along University Avenue, land has been excavated for a new boutique hotel, which is in the process of gaining its structural footings.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2026
The key evidence was teeth belonging to the animals, excavated during an archaeological dig in western New Guinea.
—Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for excavate
Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 19 Mar. 2026
The movie, which also stars Abigail Lawrie, Tom Felton and Abigail Breslin, is based on the true story of Ann and Earl Morris, early 20th-century archaeologists who helped excavate and document evidence of the Ancestral Puebloans in the American Southwest.
—Angela Yang, NBC news, 18 Mar. 2026
Along University Avenue, land has been excavated for a new boutique hotel, which is in the process of gaining its structural footings.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2026
The key evidence was teeth belonging to the animals, excavated during an archaeological dig in western New Guinea.
—Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for excavate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excavate
Verb
-
Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor if they're caught excavating, digging or altering the land along the parkway.—
James Taylor,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Ashcraft tapped out before being ordered to dig a grave, get inside a body bag, and consider his eulogy as instructors piled dirt on top of him.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Multiple politicians from several countries are shoveling propaganda at an electorate in order to build terror of an enemy that doesn’t exist at all.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Others volunteered to shovel the family’s walk.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excavate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excavate. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
