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
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Recent Examples of excavate
While some evidence of its pylon was identified by investigations that took place in the early 1900s, the feature had not been excavated until the latest efforts conducted by the Tübingen team, supported by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
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Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2024
Margaret, the book’s protagonist, is navigating life after divorce, and raising two little girls while also excavating a dark chapter of her own girlhood.
—Lizz Schumer, People.com, 24 Nov. 2024
Though the skeleton had been discovered at more than 20 feet deep in 1938, the well wasn’t properly excavated until 2014, when Petersén and a team of researchers partially exhumed the man’s remains.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Oct. 2024
That fundamental drive — that feeling of questing clarity, of the necessity of returning to an old play to excavate its glowing, undiminished heart — is what Kenny Leon’s new Broadway production lacks.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for excavate 
Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2024
Margaret, the book’s protagonist, is navigating life after divorce, and raising two little girls while also excavating a dark chapter of her own girlhood.
—Lizz Schumer, People.com, 24 Nov. 2024
Though the skeleton had been discovered at more than 20 feet deep in 1938, the well wasn’t properly excavated until 2014, when Petersén and a team of researchers partially exhumed the man’s remains.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Oct. 2024
That fundamental drive — that feeling of questing clarity, of the necessity of returning to an old play to excavate its glowing, undiminished heart — is what Kenny Leon’s new Broadway production lacks.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for excavate
Thesaurus Entries Near excavate
Cite this Entry
“Excavate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excavate. Accessed 20 Dec. 2024.
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