EXCAVATE Synonyms: 14 Similar and Opposite Words

excavate

verb

ˈek-skə-ˌvāt

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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 Somehow, the once-proud Miami Dolphins -- still the singular franchise of The Perfect Season -- have become one of the dregs of the league, albeit (as this year) seldom one bad enough to gain a really high draft pick to help excavate from the mire. —

Miami Herald, 28 Dec. 2025 But, for one reason or another, the site has never been excavated or even accessed by archaeologists since (and is unlikely to be for some time). —

Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 25 Dec. 2025 Man-su and Mi-ri are more happily married, but months of unemployment and multiple homicides take their toll, excavating old resentments and failures, including Man-su’s past struggles with alcoholism. —

Justin Chang, New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2025 The jackstraw presented a puzzle to be solved, raw material from which to excavate a way through. —

Literary Hub, 22 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for excavate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for excavate

Verb

But Support journalism that digs deeper into topics that matter most to Arkansans.

— John Brummett, Arkansas Online, 13 Jan. 2026
Kittitas County officials told Fox News Digital on Sunday that one of the deceased was partially buried by the avalanche, and his surviving companions tried to dig him out.

— Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 12 Jan. 2026