excavate
verb
ex·ca·vate
ˈek-skə-ˌvāt 
excavated; excavating
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
: to make excavations
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
The city's discovery didn't require breaking through the jungle with machetes or patiently excavating with brushes and spatulas.
—
Anna Lagos, WIRED, 30 Oct. 2024
Ai went on a mission to excavate an untold story of punks in the chaotic world of Vietnamese New Wave, one that led her to a deeper cultural truth.
—Anh Do, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2024
The grief of losing my childhood home, and the grief of seeing the little hill on which my childhood home stands gradually parceled out and excavated to make way for new housing estates.
—Zining Mok, Longreads, 22 Oct. 2024
Hundreds of items—including a cannonball, spectacles, a pewter bowl, and twenty-six unopened bottles of wine—had already been excavated.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for excavate 
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Anna Lagos, WIRED, 30 Oct. 2024
Ai went on a mission to excavate an untold story of punks in the chaotic world of Vietnamese New Wave, one that led her to a deeper cultural truth.
—Anh Do, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2024
The grief of losing my childhood home, and the grief of seeing the little hill on which my childhood home stands gradually parceled out and excavated to make way for new housing estates.
—Zining Mok, Longreads, 22 Oct. 2024
Hundreds of items—including a cannonball, spectacles, a pewter bowl, and twenty-six unopened bottles of wine—had already been excavated.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for excavate
Dictionary Entries Near excavate
Cite this Entry
“Excavate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excavate. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
noun
-ˌvāt-ər
Medical Definition
excavate
verb
ex·ca·vate
ˈek-skə-ˌvāt
excavated; excavating
: to form a cavity or hole in
an excavated wisdom tooth
: to make excavations or become hollowed out
an area of infarction in soft tissue often tends to excavate
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