as in digging
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 excavating
Archaeologists have been excavating the grounds of Hertford College, a constituent college of Oxford University, since 2024, as part of construction work for a new library.
—
Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 30 Oct. 2025
Instead of adding external chemicals or excavating polluted layers, the soil itself becomes a dynamic system capable of regenerating its quality over time.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
Archaeologists plan to continue analyzing these artifacts and excavating the area around the ancient basin.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Kansas City Star, 17 Oct. 2025
Pettigrew said the team will use drones, sonar and magnetometers to examine the site before probing the sediment and eventually excavating it using a hydraulic dredge.
—Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
These connections raise the possibility that people were following camels across the desert on winter migrations, says archaeologist and study co-author Ceri Shipton, who was excavating the site, known as Jebel Misma, when his team spotted a spectacular caravan of camel carvings on May 14, 2023.
—Martin J. Kernan, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2025
Writing is an iceberg sort of art form where only 10% of the work ends up on the page; the other 90% includes excavating each character’s backstory.
—Literary Hub, 26 Sep. 2025
But figuring out what’s excavating without your permission isn’t straightforward.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 21 Sep. 2025
In the late 1940s, Soviet archaeologists began excavating the Royal Palace at Sanjar-Shar.
—Sarah Durn, Popular Science, 17 Sep. 2025
Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 30 Oct. 2025
Instead of adding external chemicals or excavating polluted layers, the soil itself becomes a dynamic system capable of regenerating its quality over time.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
Archaeologists plan to continue analyzing these artifacts and excavating the area around the ancient basin.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Kansas City Star, 17 Oct. 2025
Pettigrew said the team will use drones, sonar and magnetometers to examine the site before probing the sediment and eventually excavating it using a hydraulic dredge.
—Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
These connections raise the possibility that people were following camels across the desert on winter migrations, says archaeologist and study co-author Ceri Shipton, who was excavating the site, known as Jebel Misma, when his team spotted a spectacular caravan of camel carvings on May 14, 2023.
—Martin J. Kernan, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2025
Writing is an iceberg sort of art form where only 10% of the work ends up on the page; the other 90% includes excavating each character’s backstory.
—Literary Hub, 26 Sep. 2025
But figuring out what’s excavating without your permission isn’t straightforward.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 21 Sep. 2025
In the late 1940s, Soviet archaeologists began excavating the Royal Palace at Sanjar-Shar.
—Sarah Durn, Popular Science, 17 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excavating
digging
Verb
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But after two weeks of digging, Phipps and his older cousin revealed that those bones belonged to a stunning triceratops.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
30 Oct. 2025
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What began as an underdog quietly morphed into a 2025 Song of the Year contender, digging its way into the Hot 100’s Top 10 nearly a year after its debut.—
Carl Lamarre,
Billboard,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Excavating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excavating. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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