excavate verb

/ˈek.skə.veɪt/ v [I or T]

Definition

•

to remove earth that is covering very old objects buried in the ground in order to discover things about the past

Tintagel Castle is being excavated.

•

to dig a hole or channel in the ground, especially with a machine

In tin mining today, workers excavate tunnels horizontally from a vertical shaft.

/ˌeks.kəˈveɪ.ʃən/ n [C or U]

Excavation on the site is likely to continue for several years.

She has taken part in several excavations of Roman settlements across Europe.

(Definition of excavate verb from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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