Definition Definition

excavate - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'excavate' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Excavate [ v. t.]
- To hollow out; to form cavity or hole in; to make hollow by cutting, scooping, or digging; as, to excavate a ball; to excavate the earth.
- To form by hollowing; to shape, as a cavity, or anything that is hollow; as, to excavate a canoe, a cellar, a channel.
- To dig out and remove, as earth.

Meaning of 'excavate' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . excavate [ v]
Meaning (1):
- form by hollowing
Example in sentence:
  • Carnegie had a lake excavated for Princeton University's rowing team;
  • excavate a cavity
Meaning (2):
- recover through digging
Example in sentence:
  • excavate gold;
  • Schliemann excavated Troy
Meaning (3):
- find by digging in the ground
Example in sentence:
  • I dug up an old box in the garden
Meaning (4):
- remove the inner part or the core of
Example in sentence:
  • the mining company wants to excavate the hillside