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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
/ ˈɛkskəˌveɪt /
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
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Derived Forms
- ˌexcaˈvation, noun
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Other Words From
- re·exca·vate verb (used with object) reexcavated reexcavating
- un·exca·vated adjective
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Word History and Origins
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Word History and Origins
Origin of excavate1
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Example Sentences
There have been attempts to excavate the remains, and many have been removed over the past half-decade.
In the years since, Alford has worked hard to excavate what she really feels.
However, de-miners crawling on their bellies to identify, excavate, and destroy mines remain the default modus operandi.
To excavate a hole under either of the four would have required more time than we believed we had to spare.
I looked among the dead, to see if I could find any iron implement with which to excavate the wall, or to break the chains.
Then the birds are able to obtain a foothold and to excavate with the bill, while clinging to the edge of the hole.
Before the locks could be built it became necessary to excavate down to bed rock.
This has operated to excavate numerous and extensive caves into the coast.
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