as in dug
to hollow out or form (something) by removing earth
workmen are excavating a long tunnel that will eventually replace the aboveground expressway
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Recent Examples of excavated
Scientists from China and then the UK excavated approximately 700 fossils during multiple visits between 2022 and 2025.
—
Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 2026
Further clearing continued throughout the 19th century, and the statue was fully excavated — exposing its paws and surrounding temple — by Émile Baraize between 1925 and 1936.
—Ryan Brennan
april 1, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2026
Hawass noted the area has been extensively studied and excavated for decades without anyone finding anything resembling a second monument.
—Ryan Brennan
april 1, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2026
The statue was fully excavated by Émile Baraize between 1925 and 1936.
—Ryan Brennan
april 1, Sacbee.com, 1 Apr. 2026
As an anthropology major, her first job was working on Howard’s African Burial Ground project as an osteological technical assistant doing skeletal analysis of the 490 full human remains that were excavated in lower Manhattan.
—Essence, 22 Mar. 2026
Along University Avenue, land has been excavated for a new boutique hotel, which is in the process of gaining its structural footings.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2026
The plan even included transporting heavy equipment, such as bulldozers, in case buried nuclear material had to be excavated.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 9 Mar. 2026
Scientists think these volcanic rocks may have been excavated by impact events and later redistributed by wind and gravity, a process seen in many craters across Arabia Terra.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 6 Mar. 2026
Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 2026
Further clearing continued throughout the 19th century, and the statue was fully excavated — exposing its paws and surrounding temple — by Émile Baraize between 1925 and 1936.
—Ryan Brennan
april 1, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2026
Hawass noted the area has been extensively studied and excavated for decades without anyone finding anything resembling a second monument.
—Ryan Brennan
april 1, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2026
The statue was fully excavated by Émile Baraize between 1925 and 1936.
—Ryan Brennan
april 1, Sacbee.com, 1 Apr. 2026
As an anthropology major, her first job was working on Howard’s African Burial Ground project as an osteological technical assistant doing skeletal analysis of the 490 full human remains that were excavated in lower Manhattan.
—Essence, 22 Mar. 2026
Along University Avenue, land has been excavated for a new boutique hotel, which is in the process of gaining its structural footings.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2026
The plan even included transporting heavy equipment, such as bulldozers, in case buried nuclear material had to be excavated.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 9 Mar. 2026
Scientists think these volcanic rocks may have been excavated by impact events and later redistributed by wind and gravity, a process seen in many craters across Arabia Terra.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 6 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excavated
dug
Verb
-
In areas outside its hardiness zone, Milky Way™ Dietes can be grown in containers that are overwintered indoors or grown as a tender perennial and dug from garden beds for winter storage.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
1 Apr. 2026
-
By the time the white light that floods Bogotá on cloudy days grows bright enough to be blinding, the june bug has dug herself a refuge in the dirt.—
María Ospina,
The Dial,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excavated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excavated. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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