excavated

past tense of excavate
as in dug
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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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 excavated The 50-ton boulder was found about 30 feet below the surface of the airfield while crews excavated the South Detention Basin, a stormwater management facility, as part of the ORDNext terminal expansion project. — Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026 But the archaeologists who excavated the new skeletal fragments from Shanidar Cave in the Kurdistan region of Iraq say the fossils weave a complex tale of Neanderthal life and death, beyond what appeared to be deliberate violence. — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026 Pomeroy and her colleagues excavated the remains from inside Shanidar Cave, an archaeological site in Iraqi Kurdistan famous for containing evidence of ritualistic Neanderthal burials. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 15 Oct. 2026 Adelaide wondered from which crevice Adrien had excavated this insolent creature. — Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 2026 Being mindful of its construction—the resort is five years in the making—each and every stone guests see is the stone found on the peninsula, excavated and repurposed to keep the area's natural materials intact. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026 But there is very little archaeological evidence available, given that many of the earliest Egyptian tombs were plundered and/or hastily excavated. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 5 Oct. 2026 The last set of stairs, which lead to the basement that the couple excavated, is contemporary. — Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 29 Sep. 2026 Chemicals were removed from the home, as well as a segment of underground pipe was excavated. — ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excavated
dug
Verb
  • With his curiosity piqued, Rabtsevich dug through the TESS archives for more data on the same star and found an additional 22 instances of dimming.
    — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026
  • But Smith also failed to respect how dangerous and dug-in the Brewers are.
    — Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Excavated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excavated. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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