Dictionary definition · excavate
verb
- recover through digging"Schliemann excavated Troy"
- find by digging in the ground"I dug up an old box in the garden"
- form by hollowing"Carnegie had a lake excavated for Princeton University's rowing team"
- remove the inner part or the core of"the mining company wants to excavate the hillside"
Source: Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).