as in to dig
to hollow out or form (something) by removing earth
workmen are excavating a long tunnel that will eventually replace the aboveground expressway
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Recent Examples of excavate
To some independent Native American activists, indigenous burial sites are sacred and should not be excavated or touched in any way.
—
Andres Viglucci,
Miami Herald,
30 June 2026
In addition to excavating the property, investigators have seized financial records, adoption records and business records.
—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
26 June 2026
Her series are inevitably female-centric and like the Brontës, who wrote 200 years and a few miles away, her work excavates the drama of daily life and the tension between good and evil that sings below any surface.
—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
26 June 2026
Only about a third of the site has been excavated, and work remains underway.
—
Brian Boucher,
ARTnews.com,
25 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for excavate
Andres Viglucci,
Miami Herald,
30 June 2026
In addition to excavating the property, investigators have seized financial records, adoption records and business records.
—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
26 June 2026
Her series are inevitably female-centric and like the Brontës, who wrote 200 years and a few miles away, her work excavates the drama of daily life and the tension between good and evil that sings below any surface.
—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
26 June 2026
Only about a third of the site has been excavated, and work remains underway.
—
Brian Boucher,
ARTnews.com,
25 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for excavate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excavate
Verb
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Elsewhere, residents have resorted to digging cesspits as latrine stocks run severely low, leading to soil and water contamination, according to Hosni Nadeem Mohanna, a water municipality spokesperson in Gaza City.
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With the top teams digging deeper into the benches for late playoff runs, developing young players has never been more important.
Verb
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With the work now being migration, most programs are still shoveling, counting tasks and missing the structure.
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Since arriving Wednesday in La Guaira, Sosa has scrambled to pull people from the rubble with his old mining pickaxe and shovel in the absence of national rescue teams.
Cite this Entry
“Excavate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excavate. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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