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View synonyms for excavate

excavate

[ eks-kuh-veyt ]

verb (used with object)

, ex·ca·vat·ed, ex·ca·vat·ing.
  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

/ ˈɛkskəˌveɪt /

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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Derived Forms

  • ˌexcaˈvation, noun
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Other Words From

  • re·exca·vate verb (used with object) reexcavated reexcavating
  • un·exca·vated adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of excavate1

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

Origin of excavate1

C16: from Latin excavāre, from cavāre to make hollow, from cavus hollow
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Example Sentences

"Sometimes we make dramatic discoveries and sometimes we excavate an entire bed and say 'hmmm, I've been looking at that thing, what do you think?'"

Amid hordes of gnats they excavate that first fossil, which turns out to be a damaged leg bone.

About a third of the site has yet to be excavated.

From BBC

A digger and about 40 local men are doing the slow work to excavate and look for bodies under the rubble.

From BBC

Ai went on a mission to excavate an untold story of punks in the chaotic world of Vietnamese New Wave, one that led her to a deeper cultural truth.

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excaudateexcavation