as in dug
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 excavated
As an anthropology major, her first job was working on Howard’s African Burial Ground project as an osteological technical assistant doing skeletal analysis of the 490 full human remains that were excavated in lower Manhattan.
—
Essence, 22 Mar. 2026
Along University Avenue, land has been excavated for a new boutique hotel, which is in the process of gaining its structural footings.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2026
The key evidence was teeth belonging to the animals, excavated during an archaeological dig in western New Guinea.
—Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 9 Mar. 2026
The plan even included transporting heavy equipment, such as bulldozers, in case buried nuclear material had to be excavated.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 9 Mar. 2026
Idaho State Police, with assistance from local authorities, as well as search and rescue groups, excavated the backyard over several days — starting in a small spot near the fence line, and eventually removing and sifting dirt from the entire area.
—Alex Brizee
march 5, Idaho Statesman, 6 Mar. 2026
Scientists think these volcanic rocks may have been excavated by impact events and later redistributed by wind and gravity, a process seen in many craters across Arabia Terra.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 6 Mar. 2026
The installation reproduces local KGB archives on Stalin and facsimiles of historical artifacts of the 1960s placed around an AR reconstruction of Buddha in Nirvana, a forty-three-foot-long, 1,600-year-old clay statue of a reclining Buddha excavated in Tajikistan in the late ’60s.
—Anel Rakhimzhanova, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2026
The reception area showcases a 21-foot installation created with soil excavated during construction—the building's foundation reborn as art.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Feb. 2026
Essence, 22 Mar. 2026
Along University Avenue, land has been excavated for a new boutique hotel, which is in the process of gaining its structural footings.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2026
The key evidence was teeth belonging to the animals, excavated during an archaeological dig in western New Guinea.
—Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 9 Mar. 2026
The plan even included transporting heavy equipment, such as bulldozers, in case buried nuclear material had to be excavated.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 9 Mar. 2026
Idaho State Police, with assistance from local authorities, as well as search and rescue groups, excavated the backyard over several days — starting in a small spot near the fence line, and eventually removing and sifting dirt from the entire area.
—Alex Brizee
march 5, Idaho Statesman, 6 Mar. 2026
Scientists think these volcanic rocks may have been excavated by impact events and later redistributed by wind and gravity, a process seen in many craters across Arabia Terra.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 6 Mar. 2026
The installation reproduces local KGB archives on Stalin and facsimiles of historical artifacts of the 1960s placed around an AR reconstruction of Buddha in Nirvana, a forty-three-foot-long, 1,600-year-old clay statue of a reclining Buddha excavated in Tajikistan in the late ’60s.
—Anel Rakhimzhanova, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2026
The reception area showcases a 21-foot installation created with soil excavated during construction—the building's foundation reborn as art.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excavated
dug
Verb
-
In areas outside its hardiness zone, Milky Way™ Dietes can be grown in containers that are overwintered indoors or grown as a tender perennial and dug from garden beds for winter storage.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
1 Apr. 2026
-
By the time the white light that floods Bogotá on cloudy days grows bright enough to be blinding, the june bug has dug herself a refuge in the dirt.—
María Ospina,
The Dial,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excavated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excavated. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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