excavate

excavate
[[t]e̱kskəveɪt[/t]]
excavates, excavating, excavated
1) VERB When archaeologists or other people excavate a piece of land, they remove earth carefully from it and look for things such as pots, bones, or buildings which are buried there, in order to discover information about the past.

[V n] A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs.

Derived words:
excavation [[t]e̱kskəve͟ɪʃ(ə)n[/t]] plural N-VAR

...the excavation of a bronze-age boat by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust...

In time these new excavations will require conservation.

2) VERB To excavate means to dig a hole in the ground, for example in order to build there.

[V n] A contractor was hired to drain the reservoir and to excavate soil from one area for replacement with clay.

Derived words:
excavation N-VAR

Our new habitation was an excavation made in the earth.

...the excavation of canals.


English dictionary. 2008.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Excavate — Ex ca*vate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Excavated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Excavating}.] [L. excavatus, p. p. of excavare to excavate; ex out + cavare to make hollow, cavus hollow. See {Cave}.] 1. To hollow out; to form cavity or hole in; to make hollow by… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • excavate — [eks′kə vāt΄] vt. excavated, excavating [< L excavatus, pp. of excavare < ex , out + cavare, to make hollow < cavus, hollow: see CAVE] 1. to make a hole or cavity in, as by digging; hollow out 2. to form by hollowing out; dig [to… …   English World dictionary

  • excavate — index disinter, extract Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • excavate — 1590s, from L. excavatus, pp. of excavare to hollow out, from ex out (see EX (Cf. ex )) + cavare to hollow, hollow out, from cavus cave (see CAVE (Cf. cave)). Related: Excavated; excavating …   Etymology dictionary

  • excavate — *dig, delve, spade, grub …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • excavate — [v] dig up burrow, cut, delve, empty, gouge, grub, hollow, mine, quarry, scoop, scrape, shovel, spade, trench, tunnel, uncover, unearth; concept 178 Ant. fill …   New thesaurus

  • excavate — ► VERB 1) make (a hole or channel) by digging. 2) extract (material) from the ground by digging. 3) carefully remove earth from (an area) in order to find buried remains. DERIVATIVES excavation noun excavator noun. ORIGIN Latin excavare hollow… …   English terms dictionary

  • Excavate — This article is about the protist group. For the process of digging, see Excavation (disambiguation). Excavates Giardia lamblia, a parasitic diplomonad Scientific classification …   Wikipedia

  • excavate — verb ADVERB ▪ completely, fully ▪ The area has not yet been fully excavated. ▪ extensively ▪ partially, partly ▪ …   Collocations dictionary

  • excavate — UK [ˈekskəveɪt] / US [ˈekskəˌveɪt] verb [intransitive/transitive] Word forms excavate : present tense I/you/we/they excavate he/she/it excavates present participle excavating past tense excavated past participle excavated a) to dig in the ground… …   English dictionary

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