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
The team excavated several key places on the site, studied cores of soil and conducted an additional LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, survey of the area.
—
Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2025
Such impacts can excavate craters tens of feet across, even from meteoroids weighing just a few pounds.
—Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 4 Nov. 2025
The Wondras were identified as suspects three years ago by Fruitland Police Chief JD Huff after law enforcement excavated their backyard, searching the area for human remains.
—Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 31 Oct. 2025
Archaeologists in Scotland have excavated over 100 weapon projectiles, including cannon shot and lead musket balls from one of the country’s most famous battlefields.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 30 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for excavate
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Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2025
Such impacts can excavate craters tens of feet across, even from meteoroids weighing just a few pounds.
—Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 4 Nov. 2025
The Wondras were identified as suspects three years ago by Fruitland Police Chief JD Huff after law enforcement excavated their backyard, searching the area for human remains.
—Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 31 Oct. 2025
Archaeologists in Scotland have excavated over 100 weapon projectiles, including cannon shot and lead musket balls from one of the country’s most famous battlefields.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 30 Oct. 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 8 Nov. 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
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