excavate

Meaning

Verb

1. (transitive) To make a hole in (something); to hollow.
2. (transitive) To remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out.
3. (transitive) To uncover (something) by digging.

Adj

1. (not-comparable, rare) Made hollow.
2. (not-comparable, obsolete) excavated, hollowed out

Noun

Any member of a major grouping of unicellular eukaryotes, of the clade Excavata.

Synonyms

dig

hollow

dig up

dig out

delve

unearth

mine

burrow

dredge

drill

grub

hollow out

turn up

scoop out

bore

hole

🕳️

quarry

sink

trench

defeat

drill into

cut off

down

cut

dishearten

discover

cover

breakdown

drive

drop

assuage

discourage

grub out

chop

grave

🪦

gouge

dig into

cave

go through

gouge out

exhume

exhaust

excavation

grub up

hack

hew

hoe

depress

calm

excavating

Translations

excaver

excavar

creuser

scavare

escavar

ausgraben

déterrer

aushöhlen

εκσκάπτω

ausheben

uithollen

delven

rooien

opgraven

uitgraven

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɛk.skə.veɪt/

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.