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 excavating the River Wear, archaeologists uncovered more than 800 whetstones — stone tools that were used to sharpen weapons and other tools — as well as 11 stone anchors believed to be linked to river transport.
—
Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Back in late 2025, Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie (LDA) of Saxony-Anhalt set forth to excavate a stretch of land east of Reinstedt to ensure that the construction of a wind farm wouldn’t rip up irreplaceable traces of the past.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 1 Feb. 2026
Officials won't be able to diagnose the cause of the leak until the pipe is excavated.
—Everett Eaton, jsonline.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Sharp Objects uses a murder mystery to excavate the rot at the core of a Missouri town whose mythology glorifies the Confederacy.
—Judy Berman, Time, 30 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for excavate
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Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Back in late 2025, Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie (LDA) of Saxony-Anhalt set forth to excavate a stretch of land east of Reinstedt to ensure that the construction of a wind farm wouldn’t rip up irreplaceable traces of the past.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 1 Feb. 2026
Officials won't be able to diagnose the cause of the leak until the pipe is excavated.
—Everett Eaton, jsonline.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Sharp Objects uses a murder mystery to excavate the rot at the core of a Missouri town whose mythology glorifies the Confederacy.
—Judy Berman, Time, 30 Jan. 2026
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 Feb. 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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