Synonyms of excavated

excavated

verb

past tense of excavate

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dug
• shoveled
• dredged
• mined
• scooped
• burrowed
• quarried
• clawed
• grubbed
• delved
• dug in
• spaded

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• filled (in)
• smoothed (out or over)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of excavated

When decades-old music or books are excavated and celebrated — lately a common occurrence amid the retromania of our culture industry — the artists are often long gone. — Jack Denton, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026

The limestone sarcophagus was discovered in 1820 and officially excavated in 1869 from what is now a grassy strip along the north side of the abbey’s nave. — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 22 Oct. 2026

Crews excavated an 8-acre basin in the infield to serve as a holding pond, while contractors rebuilt the culverts under the track and reinforced the road leading into it. — Abe Streep, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2026

The 50-ton boulder was found about 30 feet below the surface of the airfield while crews excavated the South Detention Basin, a stormwater management facility, as part of the ORDNext terminal expansion project. — Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026

But the archaeologists who excavated the new skeletal fragments from Shanidar Cave in the Kurdistan region of Iraq say the fossils weave a complex tale of Neanderthal life and death, beyond what appeared to be deliberate violence. — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026

Pomeroy and her colleagues excavated the remains from inside Shanidar Cave, an archaeological site in Iraqi Kurdistan famous for containing evidence of ritualistic Neanderthal burials. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 15 Oct. 2026

Adelaide wondered from which crevice Adrien had excavated this insolent creature. — Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 2026

Being mindful of its construction—the resort is five years in the making—each and every stone guests see is the stone found on the peninsula, excavated and repurposed to keep the area's natural materials intact. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026