excavate
verb /ˈekskəveɪt/
/ˈekskəveɪt/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they excavate | /ˈekskəveɪt/ /ˈekskəveɪt/ |
| he / she / it excavates | /ˈekskəveɪts/ /ˈekskəveɪts/ |
| past simple excavated | /ˈekskəveɪtɪd/ /ˈekskəveɪtɪd/ |
| past participle excavated | /ˈekskəveɪtɪd/ /ˈekskəveɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form excavating | /ˈekskəveɪtɪŋ/ /ˈekskəveɪtɪŋ/ |
- to dig in the ground to look for old buildings or objects that have been buried for a long time; to find something by digging in this way
- excavate something The site has been excavated by archaeologists.
- The area has not yet been fully excavated.
- excavate something from something pottery and weapons excavated from the burial site
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- completely
- fully
- extensively
- …
- from
- excavate something (formal) to make a hole, etc. in the ground by digging
- The body was discovered when builders excavated the area.
Word Originlate 16th cent.: from Latin excavat- ‘hollowed out’, from the verb excavare, from ex- ‘out’ + cavare ‘make or become hollow’ (from cavus ‘hollow’).