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
From 2004 to 2009, a team excavated the Neumark-Nord 2 site year-round, even training over 175 international students in the process.
—
Pranjal Malewar, New Atlas, 12 July 2025
In time, settlers would excavate and plunder countless ancestral ruins across the Southwest, with artifacts carried off to private collections and museum displays.
—Mike Bezemek, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 July 2025
To answer these questions, archaeologists excavated a small portion of the field in late June 2025, the institute said.
—Aspen Pflughoeft
july 8, Miami Herald, 8 July 2025
Archaeologists excavating at Gantangqing (an archaeological site on the shore of Lake Fuxian in what’s now southwestern China) unearthed 35 wooden tools from layers of soil dating to around 300,000 years ago.
—ArsTechnica, 7 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for excavate
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.
Pranjal Malewar, New Atlas, 12 July 2025
In time, settlers would excavate and plunder countless ancestral ruins across the Southwest, with artifacts carried off to private collections and museum displays.
—Mike Bezemek, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 July 2025
To answer these questions, archaeologists excavated a small portion of the field in late June 2025, the institute said.
—Aspen Pflughoeft
july 8, Miami Herald, 8 July 2025
Archaeologists excavating at Gantangqing (an archaeological site on the shore of Lake Fuxian in what’s now southwestern China) unearthed 35 wooden tools from layers of soil dating to around 300,000 years ago.
—ArsTechnica, 7 July 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 15 Jul. 2025.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share