adj
Meaning 1
Made hollow.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable, rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
excavate
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/ˈɛk.skə.veɪt/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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CMU ARPABET: EH1 K S K AH0 V EY2 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adj
Meaning 2
excavated, hollowed out
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable, obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
Any member of a major grouping of unicellular eukaryotes, of the clade Excavata.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: biology, natural-sciences, zoology
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
To make a hole in (something); to hollow.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
To remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 6
To uncover (something) by digging.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 7
remove the inner part or the core of
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- the mining company wants to excavate the hillside
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: dig, hollow
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: remove, take, take away, withdraw
Narrower terms: drive, trench, ditch
verb
Meaning 8
form by hollowing
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- Carnegie had a lake excavated for Princeton University's rowing team
- excavate a cavity
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: hollow, hollow out, core out
verb
Meaning 9
find by digging in the ground
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- I dug up an old box in the garden
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: dig up, turn up
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: obtain
Narrower terms: grub up, grub out, nuzzle, disinter, exhume
verb
Meaning 10
recover through digging
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- Schliemann excavated Troy
- excavate gold
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: unearth
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: uncover, bring out, unveil, reveal
Narrower terms: dig, dig up, dig out
History
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.
From a substantivization of Latin excavātus through the associated taxon's name (Excavata), see -ate (noun-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.
Across languages
Translations
51 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: дълбая (dǎlbaja) — to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- Catalan: excavar — to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- Dutch: uithollen — to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- French: excaver — to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- Galician: escavar — to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- Hungarian: kiás — to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- Hungarian: kiváj — to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- Māori: whakakōrua — to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- Māori: karituangi — to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- Māori: haukeri — to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- Portuguese: escavar — to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- Quechua: haratay — to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- Serbo-Croatian: iskapati — to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- Serbo-Croatian: iskopavati — to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- Spanish: excavar — to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- Tagalog: hukay (butas) — to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- Tagalog: balon — to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- Bulgarian: копая (kopaja) — to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- Catalan: excavar — to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- Dutch: uithollen — to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- Galician: escavar — to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- White Hmong: khawb — to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- Hungarian: elhord — to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- Hungarian: kiemel — to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- Hungarian: kikotor — to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- Hungarian: kimélyít — to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- Hungarian: alámos — to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- Māori: haukeri — to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- Portuguese: escavar — to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- Spanish: excavar — to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- Spanish: asotanar — to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- Tagalog: hukay — to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- Ottoman Turkish: قازمق (kazmak) — to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- Vietnamese: khai quật — to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- Armenian: պեղել (peġel) — to uncover (something) by digging
- Bulgarian: разкопавам (razkopavam) — to uncover (something) by digging
- Catalan: excavar — to uncover (something) by digging
- Catalan: desenterrar — to uncover (something) by digging
- Dutch: opdelven — to uncover (something) by digging
- Dutch: uitgraven — to uncover (something) by digging
- Galician: escavar — to uncover (something) by digging
- Gothic: 𐌿𐍆𐌲𐍂𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌽 (ufgraban) — to uncover (something) by digging
- Hungarian: felás — to uncover (something) by digging
- Hungarian: feltár — to uncover (something) by digging
- Latin: effodiō — to uncover (something) by digging
- Malay: huke — to uncover (something) by digging
- Māori: huke — to uncover (something) by digging
- Māori: kohura — to uncover (something) by digging
- Tagalog: buksan (tanggal takip) — to uncover (something) by digging
- Vietnamese: khai quật — to uncover (something) by digging
- Zulu: -mba — to uncover (something) by digging