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
While in the first two, the siblings have somewhat uncomfortable interactions with their parents, in the third Paris section, the twin brother and sister have only memories of their late parents to excavate.
—
Pat Saperstein, Variety, 29 Dec. 2025
Somehow, the once-proud Miami Dolphins -- still the singular franchise of The Perfect Season -- have become one of the dregs of the league, albeit (as this year) seldom one bad enough to gain a really high draft pick to help excavate from the mire.
—Miami Herald, 28 Dec. 2025
But, for one reason or another, the site has never been excavated or even accessed by archaeologists since (and is unlikely to be for some time).
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 25 Dec. 2025
Man-su and Mi-ri are more happily married, but months of unemployment and multiple homicides take their toll, excavating old resentments and failures, including Man-su’s past struggles with alcoholism.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for excavate
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Pat Saperstein, Variety, 29 Dec. 2025
Somehow, the once-proud Miami Dolphins -- still the singular franchise of The Perfect Season -- have become one of the dregs of the league, albeit (as this year) seldom one bad enough to gain a really high draft pick to help excavate from the mire.
—Miami Herald, 28 Dec. 2025
But, for one reason or another, the site has never been excavated or even accessed by archaeologists since (and is unlikely to be for some time).
—Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 25 Dec. 2025
Man-su and Mi-ri are more happily married, but months of unemployment and multiple homicides take their toll, excavating old resentments and failures, including Man-su’s past struggles with alcoholism.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for excavate
Cite this Entry
“Excavate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excavate. Accessed 7 Jan. 2026.
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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