excavate meaning and definition

EXCAVATE verb

Definition of excavate (verb)

1. recover through digging
   • "Schliemann excavated Troy"; "excavate gold"
   • synonyms: unearth
2. find by digging in the ground
   • "I dug up an old box in the garden"
   • synonyms: dig up, turn up
3. form by hollowing
   • "Carnegie had a lake excavated for Princeton University's rowing team"; "excavate a cavity"
4. remove the inner part or the core of
   • "the mining company wants to excavate the hillside"
   • synonyms: dig, hollow