as in discovery
the act or process of sighting or learning the existence of something for the first time
the unearthing of a prehistoric man who had been preserved in an Alpine glacier proved to be a great boon to science
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Recent Examples of unearthing
Kelsey Brown, San Antonio Express-News, 28 Jan. 2026
For Ruffier, the hardest part was filming scenes that show her unearthing and reading her old school-time diaries, full of entries about her then-teacher.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 20 Jan. 2026
The murders followed a deadly boat crash that led to the unearthing of multiple scandals involving the wealthy family, one of the state's most formidable legal dynasties.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Oct. 2025
Rochana Redkar, Clinical Fellow in Paediatric Haematology Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, was excited to see the unearthing.
—Jennifer Hauser, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2025
The trailer also teases the unearthing of Addams family secrets.
—Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026
Some of the artifacts were discovered almost 100 years ago, but ongoing excavations are constantly unearthing new ones.
—Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 25 Feb. 2026
Your 4th House of Home becomes a deep well as the nurturing Moon conjoins unearthing Pluto there, encouraging you to cleanse closets and clear emotional dust.
—Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 Feb. 2026
The writer of these lines wonders if going after, unearthing, and capturing family secrets and issues on film isn’t emotionally draining.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 29 Jan. 2026
Some viewed the discovery as a divine gift, while a local priest chastised the explorers for unearthing Satan, saying the blowout was God’s punishment.
—The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
For Patterson, getting the best out of his defenders never proved to be a problem at TCU, where he was known for unearthing underrated prospects.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
But for the brave men and women of the TSA, unearthing every strange and confusing item in passenger luggage is just another day on the job.
—Lydia Price, Travel + Leisure, 16 Jan. 2026
This usually means unearthing products from medicine cabinets, organizers, and drawers, and lining them up on the floor or across their bedspread.
—Grace McCarty, Glamour, 14 Jan. 2026
Noun
As part of that unearthing, the company is looking to do sitework and underground utilities for data centers — doing everything from moving the dirt to implementing drainage — to lay the foundation for both dry and wet utilities, Executive Vice President Travis Mross said.
—Kelsey Brown, San Antonio Express-News, 28 Jan. 2026
For Ruffier, the hardest part was filming scenes that show her unearthing and reading her old school-time diaries, full of entries about her then-teacher.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 20 Jan. 2026
The murders followed a deadly boat crash that led to the unearthing of multiple scandals involving the wealthy family, one of the state's most formidable legal dynasties.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Oct. 2025
Rochana Redkar, Clinical Fellow in Paediatric Haematology Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, was excited to see the unearthing.
—Jennifer Hauser, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2025
The trailer also teases the unearthing of Addams family secrets.
—Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Verb
Once the capsule is buried on July 4, the Park Service will take ownership of it and will be responsible for eventually unearthing it.
—Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026
Some of the artifacts were discovered almost 100 years ago, but ongoing excavations are constantly unearthing new ones.
—Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 25 Feb. 2026
Your 4th House of Home becomes a deep well as the nurturing Moon conjoins unearthing Pluto there, encouraging you to cleanse closets and clear emotional dust.
—Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 Feb. 2026
The writer of these lines wonders if going after, unearthing, and capturing family secrets and issues on film isn’t emotionally draining.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 29 Jan. 2026
Some viewed the discovery as a divine gift, while a local priest chastised the explorers for unearthing Satan, saying the blowout was God’s punishment.
—The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
For Patterson, getting the best out of his defenders never proved to be a problem at TCU, where he was known for unearthing underrated prospects.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
But for the brave men and women of the TSA, unearthing every strange and confusing item in passenger luggage is just another day on the job.
—Lydia Price, Travel + Leisure, 16 Jan. 2026
This usually means unearthing products from medicine cabinets, organizers, and drawers, and lining them up on the floor or across their bedspread.
—Grace McCarty, Glamour, 14 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unearthing
Noun
-
Even after three decades of making such discoveries, Del Río said his pulse quickened.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Denver District Attorney John Walsh in August vowed to better his office’s practices after judges tossed a handful of cases over discovery violations, and Denver prosecutors last fall found discovery problems with another 750 cases.—
Shelly Bradbury,
Denver Post,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In 2021, Carolyn Dunn Moudy was identified as the woman whose body Davie Police found floating in a canal in 1975 after exhuming her body from Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens cemetery in Davie in 2019.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
19 Jan. 2026
-
Gein admitted to exhuming the corpses and using the skin to recreate and become his mother, who died of a stroke in 1945.—
Nicole Acosta,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Researchers say the findings could potentially open the door to new uses for GLP-1s.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
5 Mar. 2026
-
After conducting an investigation and forwarding its findings to the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office, police arrested Jeffery Cope on Thursday on a warrant for one count of vehicular manslaughter.—
Shannon Tyler,
Idaho Statesman,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unearthing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unearthing. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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