- 1to 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. excavate something from something pottery and weapons excavated from the burial site
- 2excavate something (formal) to make a hole, etc. in the ground by digging The body was discovered when builders excavated the area.
excavate
verbNAmE//ˈɛkskəˌveɪt//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they excavate he / she / it excavates
past simple excavated
-ing form excavating
Check pronunciation: excavate