excavate

verb

ex·ca·vate | \ˈek-skə-ˌvāt

excavated; excavating

Definition of excavate

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 More Example Sentences Learn More about excavate

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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

In 2016, archaeologist Melissa Cradic of the University of California, Berkeley, and her colleagues excavated a 3,000- to 4,000-year-old tomb near the palace. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Israeli tomb contains a tasty surprise: Vanilla extract," 20 Nov. 2018 In 2016, a DPAA Recovery Team excavated the site and recovered additional remains, the agency said. — Emily Sweeney, BostonGlobe.com, "New Hampshire airman who died on World War II bombing mission will be laid to rest," 18 June 2018 By the end of the expedition, with the assistance of the drone scientists, the group will uncover as many as 250 new significant fossil locations and excavate hundreds of bones. — Jason Harper, Condé Nast Traveler, "On the Hunt for Dinosaur Bones in the Gobi Desert," 20 July 2018 Lately, a wave of stylishly sullen young artists, many in rap, has excavated the painfully unhip, angsty subcultures of the 1990s and 2000s. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "What Linkin Park Gave to Pop Music," 25 June 2018 The latest find, announced at a press conference Saturday, belongs to the Saite-Persian Period, from 664-404 B.C. The site, which lies south of Unas pyramid, was last excavated more than 100 years ago, in 1900. — Fox News, "Archaeologists in Egypt discover ancient mummification workshop," 2 Oct. 2018 Among the few exceptions is Zlatko Ugljen’s Serefudin White Mosque (1980), which exhibits a northern European skill with toplight and an unusual asymmetrical interior that looks as if it has been excavated, like a cave. — Alexandra Lange, Curbed, "Concrete utopia," 12 July 2018 Can canines smell the difference between pottery pieces that have sat in a museum for years and those that are recently excavated—and thus more likely to have been looted from an archaeological site? — Christine Speer Lejeune, Smithsonian, "Dogs May Soon Be on the Front Lines in the Fight Against Artifact Smuggling," 20 Mar. 2018 Austin will continue to excavate itself from the horror of 2015, one day at a time, seeking a lush, green path to tomorrow. — Gregg Doyel, Indianapolis Star, "Doyel: Austin hopes a new ballfield can help in its battle with opioids and HIV," 21 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'excavate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.