excavate
verb
ex·ca·vate
ˈek-skə-ˌvāt 
excavated; excavating
1
: to form a cavity or hole in
2
: to form by hollowing out
3
: to dig out and remove
4
: to expose to view by or as if by digging away a covering
excavate the remains of a temple
: to make excavations
Examples of excavate in a Sentence
They excavated an ancient city.
It is the first site to be excavated in this area.
They began excavating the backyard for their new pool.
The excess dirt was carefully excavated.
Recent Examples on the Web
Teamwork thrives when promises are specific, and as tough Saturn sextiles excavating Pluto, your friendship zone and your travel sector combine.
—
Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 28 Mar. 2026
With Walker Monfort in charge, president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and GM Josh Byrnes have been entrusted to excavate the Rockies from the ruins.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 27 Mar. 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
Where Fennell’s film departs from its source—reimagining rather than excavating—Powell’s novel goes the other direction, pushing deeper into Brontë’s life and work to find what might explain them.
—Literary Hub, 20 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for excavate
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Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 28 Mar. 2026
With Walker Monfort in charge, president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and GM Josh Byrnes have been entrusted to excavate the Rockies from the ruins.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 27 Mar. 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
Where Fennell’s film departs from its source—reimagining rather than excavating—Powell’s novel goes the other direction, pushing deeper into Brontë’s life and work to find what might explain them.
—Literary Hub, 20 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for excavate
Cite this Entry
“Excavate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excavate. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
excavate
verb
ex·ca·vate
ˈek-skə-ˌvāt
excavated; excavating
1
: to hollow out : form a hole in
excavate the side of a hill
2
: to make by hollowing out
excavate a tunnel
3
: to dig out and remove
excavate sand
4
: to uncover by digging away covering earth
excavate an ancient city
excavator
noun
-ˌvāt-ər
Medical Definition
excavate
verb
ex·ca·vate
ˈek-skə-ˌvāt
excavated; excavating
: to form a cavity or hole in
an excavated wisdom tooth
: to make excavations or become hollowed out
an area of infarction in soft tissue often tends to excavate
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