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
The wall was excavated more than 230 years ago, but some 300 inscriptions etched into it remained hidden until new technologies allowed researchers to identify them.
—
Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026
Researchers excavated seven mummies along with the bones of 54 other cheetahs from a site near the city of Arar.
—Adithi Ramakrishnan, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2026
One of the most affecting displays is a wall lined with hundreds of jars of soil excavated from sites of lynchings across the country.
—Clint Smith, The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2026
The site had not been excavated since 1924, when fossil removal efforts ended after a series of early 20th-century digs led by the Carnegie Museum, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the University of Utah.
—Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 18 Jan. 2026
Study authors Yosef Garfinkel, a professor in archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Sarah Krulwich, a research assistant and MA student at the university’s archaeology department, examined pottery fragments from 29 Halafian sites, excavated over a 100-year period from 1899.
—Jasmin Sykes, CNN Money, 16 Jan. 2026
In the end, Project Iceworm never got beyond a 1,300-foot (400-meter) tunnel the Army excavated at Camp Century.
—Paul Bierman, Fortune, 14 Jan. 2026
Between 2022 and 2024, the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology excavated a series of ancient tombs in the Jiali Village of Zi’an.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 12 Jan. 2026
Any beach quality sand excavated from the channel will be placed on the city’s eroding beaches south of the municipal pier.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Jan. 2026
Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026
Researchers excavated seven mummies along with the bones of 54 other cheetahs from a site near the city of Arar.
—Adithi Ramakrishnan, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2026
One of the most affecting displays is a wall lined with hundreds of jars of soil excavated from sites of lynchings across the country.
—Clint Smith, The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2026
The site had not been excavated since 1924, when fossil removal efforts ended after a series of early 20th-century digs led by the Carnegie Museum, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the University of Utah.
—Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 18 Jan. 2026
Study authors Yosef Garfinkel, a professor in archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Sarah Krulwich, a research assistant and MA student at the university’s archaeology department, examined pottery fragments from 29 Halafian sites, excavated over a 100-year period from 1899.
—Jasmin Sykes, CNN Money, 16 Jan. 2026
In the end, Project Iceworm never got beyond a 1,300-foot (400-meter) tunnel the Army excavated at Camp Century.
—Paul Bierman, Fortune, 14 Jan. 2026
Between 2022 and 2024, the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology excavated a series of ancient tombs in the Jiali Village of Zi’an.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 12 Jan. 2026
Any beach quality sand excavated from the channel will be placed on the city’s eroding beaches south of the municipal pier.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excavated
dug
Verb
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Once a hole is dug, a tall crane slowly slides in a rebar cage that resembles a wire mesh dinosaur spine so the hole can be filled with concrete.—
Jeanette Marantos,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
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New York City public schools will reopen Tuesday after nearly 375,000 students participated in remote learning Monday as the city dug its way out of nearly a foot of snow, Mayor Mamdani said.—
Cayla Bamberger,
New York Daily News,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excavated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excavated. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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