EXCAVATE Synonyms: 14 Similar and Opposite Words

excavate

verb

ˈek-skə-ˌvāt

Definition of excavate

as in to dig

to hollow out or form (something) by removing earth workmen are excavating a long tunnel that will eventually replace the aboveground expressway

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of excavate Her series are inevitably female-centric and like the Brontës, who wrote 200 years and a few miles away, her work excavates the drama of daily life and the tension between good and evil that sings below any surface. — Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 26 June 2026 While Freddy was in Boston mourning Germany’s defeat, online sleuths excavated the least-savory tidbits from his X posting history. — Will Oremus, The Atlantic, 1 July 2026 Investigators later conducted a second search warrant operation on June 23 that included excavating portions of the property for evidence of dogs buried in mass graves. — Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 30 June 2026 The 660-plus scrolls stayed buried under volcanic mud until they were excavated in the 1700s from a single room that archaeologists believe held the personal working library of an Epicurean philosopher named Philodemus. — ArsTechnica, 30 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for excavate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for excavate

Verb

Elsewhere, residents have resorted to digging cesspits as latrine stocks run severely low, leading to soil and water contamination, according to Hosni Nadeem Mohanna, a water municipality spokesperson in Gaza City.

— Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 5 July 2026
With the top teams digging deeper into the benches for late playoff runs, developing young players has never been more important.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026

Definition of dig

Verb

With the work now being migration, most programs are still shoveling, counting tasks and missing the structure.

— Maman Ibrahim, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Since arriving Wednesday in La Guaira, Sosa has scrambled to pull people from the rubble with his old mining pickaxe and shovel in the absence of national rescue teams.

— Juan Pablo Arraez, Chicago Tribune, 29 June 2026

Definition of shovel

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exasperations

excavate

excavated

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“Excavate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excavate. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of excavate

verb

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