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
Ancient Romans continued using and expanding the graveyard until around 300 A.D.
When modern-day archaeologists excavated the site, the graveyard spanned about 54,000 square feet and included 1,430 tombs and 450 other structures.
—
Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 22 Apr. 2024
Here was the bottomless breadbasket of ideas, the inexhaustible canon of American chain food, I.P. surviving in a blur of memory and marketing, that could be excavated and remade forever.
—Tejal Rao, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
The temples might have been actual temples used for religious ceremonies, and researchers have excavated carvings that resemble the Venus of Willendorf.
—Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 9 Apr. 2024
And although, decades from now, this surplus store of incomplete works, musical doodles and interrupted thoughts will provide valuable historical context toward excavating the true cultural damage caused by the pandemic, listening to them now feels vaguely like snacking on war rations.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2024
Researchers have excavated the ruins of a medieval castle buried beneath a French hotel.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024
Now, researchers have taken remains excavated from Harewood in 1999 and used new DNA analysis techniques to identify two of Samuel’s grandsons and their mother.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 30 Mar. 2024
Nearly 100 stonemasons helped to excavate the stone from around the property.
—Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 27 Mar. 2024
In the decades that followed, the Illinois State Museum turned the site into a full-fledged museum, excavating more than 800 skeletal remains before constructing the building that stands there today.
—Julia Jacobs, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2024
Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 22 Apr. 2024
Here was the bottomless breadbasket of ideas, the inexhaustible canon of American chain food, I.P. surviving in a blur of memory and marketing, that could be excavated and remade forever.
—Tejal Rao, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
The temples might have been actual temples used for religious ceremonies, and researchers have excavated carvings that resemble the Venus of Willendorf.
—Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 9 Apr. 2024
And although, decades from now, this surplus store of incomplete works, musical doodles and interrupted thoughts will provide valuable historical context toward excavating the true cultural damage caused by the pandemic, listening to them now feels vaguely like snacking on war rations.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2024
Researchers have excavated the ruins of a medieval castle buried beneath a French hotel.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024
Now, researchers have taken remains excavated from Harewood in 1999 and used new DNA analysis techniques to identify two of Samuel’s grandsons and their mother.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 30 Mar. 2024
Nearly 100 stonemasons helped to excavate the stone from around the property.
—Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 27 Mar. 2024
In the decades that followed, the Illinois State Museum turned the site into a full-fledged museum, excavating more than 800 skeletal remains before constructing the building that stands there today.
—Julia Jacobs, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'excavate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near excavate
Cite this Entry
“Excavate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excavate. Accessed 26 Apr. 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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