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
Hundreds of items—including a cannonball, spectacles, a pewter bowl, and twenty-six unopened bottles of wine—had already been excavated.
—
Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
While excavating in 2015, Frachetti met with one of the region’s only current inhabitants—a forestry inspector who lives with his family a few miles from Tashbulak.
—Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 23 Oct. 2024
Storytelling can also help teams excavate issues and problems more proactively.
—Julie Kratz, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024
More could be revealed as archaeologists continue to excavate the site.
—Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for excavate 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
While excavating in 2015, Frachetti met with one of the region’s only current inhabitants—a forestry inspector who lives with his family a few miles from Tashbulak.
—Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 23 Oct. 2024
Storytelling can also help teams excavate issues and problems more proactively.
—Julie Kratz, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024
More could be revealed as archaeologists continue to excavate the site.
—Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for excavate
Dictionary Entries Near excavate
Cite this Entry
“Excavate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excavate. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share