Word
excavate
Phoneticsex·ca·vate, stress on the first syllable
US/ˈɛkskəˌveɪt/
UK/ˈɛkskəvˌeɪt/
Definition
v. to dig earth or old objects out of the ground, often to find things from the past or to prepare land for building.
v. to remove soil or rock by digging, especially to uncover buried remains or to prepare ground for construction. Takes a direct object denoting the material removed or the site worked.
Examples
“Workers excavate the field before building the school.”
“Archaeologists excavate the hillside each summer to uncover old pottery and buried walls.”
“The team continues to excavate the floodplain where satellite images suggest a buried canal once linked two ancient settlements.”
Examples
simple
“Workers excavate the field before building the school.”
contextual
“Archaeologists excavate the hillside each summer to uncover old pottery and buried walls.”
complex
“The team continues to excavate the floodplain where satellite images suggest a buried canal once linked two ancient settlements.”
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “excavate” in context.
Verb
01. attempt to excavate
“Engineers attempted to excavate the slope after the landslide blocked the road.”
verb + to + verb
02. begin to excavate
“Workers began to excavate the foundations for the new hospital last month.”
verb + to + verb
03. commission to excavate
“The museum was commissioned to excavate the Iron Age settlement.”
verb + to + verb
04. excavate at
“Students volunteered to excavate at a Bronze Age site in Greece.”
verb + prep
05. excavate beneath
“They excavated beneath the car park and discovered a medieval crypt.”
verb + prep
Adjective
06. carefully excavate
“Archaeologists had to carefully excavate the fragile mosaic without damaging it.”
adv + verb
Noun
07. excavate artefact
“Volunteers helped excavate each artefact and record its exact position.”
verb + noun
08. excavate foundation
“Builders excavated the foundations to a depth of three metres.”
verb + noun
09. carefully excavate ancient ruins
“Archaeologists carefully excavate the ancient ruins to preserve fragile pottery.”
10. commissioned to excavate site
“The university was commissioned to excavate the site before construction began.”
11. excavate a tunnel by hand
“Prisoners excavated a tunnel by hand to escape the camp.”
12. excavate foundations for building
“Contractors excavated the foundations for the building in just two weeks.”
Usage
The verb is transitive and takes a direct object.
Real-World Examples
“For more than a decade, archaeologists have been excavating the remains of Thouria, an ancient Greek city that could be more important than they had anticipated.” “When German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt first began excavating on a Turkish mountaintop 25 years ago, he was convinced the buildings he uncovered were unusual, even unique.” “Volunteers have spent two years excavating about 150 sites in the Deepdale valley.” “Five of the building's eight rooms have been fully excavated in the Villa Celimontana park, a former noble residence dating back to the 16th century on the Caelian Hill, one of the seven hills of ancient Rome.” Etymology
First attested in 1599, from Latin excavātus (“hollowed out”), perfect passive participle of excavō (“to hollow out”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ex (“out”) + cavō (“to hollow out, pierce”), from cavus (“cave, hole”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). Participial usage up until Early Modern English.
From a substantivization of Latin excavātus through the associated taxon's name (Excavata), see -ate (noun-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word family
VERB
Related words
Domain
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C1 AdvancedIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.7.0–8.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 5.0–5.595–113TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.945–990
- Frequency
- Occasional
- Level
- C1 · Advanced
- Updated
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