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View synonyms for

excavate

[eks-kuh-veyt]

verb (used with object)

excavated, excavating 
  1. 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.

  2. to make (a hole, tunnel, etc.) by removing material.

  3. to dig or scoop out (earth, sand, etc.).

  4. to expose or lay bare by or as if by digging; unearth.

    to excavate an ancient city.



excavate

/ ˈɛəˌɪ /

verb

  1. to remove (soil, earth, etc) by digging; dig out

  2. to make (a hole, cavity, or tunnel) in (solid matter) by hollowing or removing the centre or inner part

    to excavate a tooth

  3. to unearth (buried objects) methodically in an attempt to discover information about the past

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • reexcavate verb (used with object)
  • unexcavated adjective
  • ˌ泦ˈپDz noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of excavate1

1590–1600; < Latin 泦ٳܲ (past participle of to hollow out), equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + cav ( um ) hollow, cave + -ٳܲ -ate 1
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Word History and Origins

Origin of excavate1

C16: from Latin 泦, from to make hollow, from cavus hollow
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Preparatory works got under way, with diggers excavating land on Great Wilson Street in Hunslet.

From

A dank, earthy odor hung in the air, as if mounds of fresh pencil shavings had been scattered over a newly excavated farm plot.

From

Mr Peck said the neighbour's car, a silver Ford Focus, which had been set alight the night of the fire, had not been fully excavated and appropriate samples had not been taken within 24 hours.

From

So far, her team has excavated an area the size of a tennis court, but the bed of bones extends for a kilometre into the hillside.

From

A 1,000 year-old human skeleton which was buried sitting cross-legged in India has been moved to a museum six years after it was excavated.

From

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excaudateexcavation