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excavate
[ eks-kuh-veyt ]
verb (used with object)
- to make hollow by removing the inner part; make a hole or cavity in; form into a hollow, as by digging:
The ground was excavated for a foundation.
- to make (a hole, tunnel, etc.) by removing material.
- to dig or scoop out (earth, sand, etc.).
- to expose or lay bare by or as if by digging; unearth:
to excavate an ancient city.
excavate
/ ˈɛəˌɪ /
verb
- to remove (soil, earth, etc) by digging; dig out
- to make (a hole, cavity, or tunnel) in (solid matter) by hollowing or removing the centre or inner part
to excavate a tooth
- to unearth (buried objects) methodically in an attempt to discover information about the past
Derived Forms
- ˌ泦ˈپDz, noun
Other Word Forms
- ·c·ٱ verb (used with object) reexcavated reexcavating
- ܲ·c·e adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of excavate1
Example Sentences
While excavating the area in Cambridge, Mr Capon said they came across a glass soft drinks bottle he estimated dated from the 1890s.
About half the site, which lies in an unremarkable field in the grounds of Fonmon Castle, has now been excavated.
Unlike most of those who are searching through the debris of January’s fires, this isn’t the first time we’ve excavated the rubble of destroyed lives.
I hope this doesn’t sound ridiculous, but I think we approach it — or at least I approach it — less as though we’re building something and more as though we’re excavating something.
Howard Williams, professor of archaeology at the University of Chester, also writes the Archaeodeath blog, examining attitudes to excavated human remains.
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