Meanings
excavate1
present singular third person excavates · participle present excavating · participle past excavated · past excavated
- transitiveTo uncover (something) by digging.
- not comparablerareMade hollow.
- not comparableobsoleteexcavated, hollowed out
excavate2
plural excavates
- biologyAny member of a major grouping of unicellular eukaryotes, of the clade Excavata.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
excavate · verb, adjective
- Latinexcavātus“hollowed out”
- Englishexcavate
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.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →excavate · noun
- Latinexcavātus
- Englishexcavate
From a substantivization of Latin excavātus through the associated taxon's name (Excavata), see -ate (noun-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian дълбая, копая
- дълбая (dălbaja)to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- копая (kopaja)to remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- разкопавам (razkopavam)to uncover (something) by digging
Catalan excavar, excavar
- excavarto make a hole in (something); to hollow
- excavarto remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- excavarto uncover (something) by digging
- desenterrarto uncover (something) by digging
Dutch uithollen, uithollen
- uithollento make a hole in (something); to hollow
- uithollento remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- opdelvento uncover (something) by digging
- uitgravento uncover (something) by digging
French excaver
- excaverto make a hole in (something); to hollow
Hungarian kiás, kiváj
- kiásto make a hole in (something); to hollow
- kivájto make a hole in (something); to hollow
- elhordto remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- kiemelto remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- kikotorto remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- kimélyítto remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- alámosto remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- felásto uncover (something) by digging
- feltárto uncover (something) by digging
Latin effodiō
- effodiōto uncover (something) by digging
Malay huke
- huketo uncover (something) by digging
Māori whakakōrua, karituangi
- whakakōruato make a hole in (something); to hollow
- karituangito make a hole in (something); to hollow
- haukerito make a hole in (something); to hollow
- haukerito remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- huketo uncover (something) by digging
- kohurato uncover (something) by digging
Portuguese escavar, escavar
- escavarto make a hole in (something); to hollow
- escavarto remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
Spanish excavar, excavar
- excavarto make a hole in (something); to hollow
- excavarto remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- asotanarto remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
Tagalog hukay (butas), balon
- hukay (butas)to make a hole in (something); to hollow
- balonto make a hole in (something); to hollow
- hukayto remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- buksan (tanggal takip)to uncover (something) by digging
Vietnamese khai quật, khai quật
- khai quậtto remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out
- khai quậtto uncover (something) by digging
Zulu -mba
- -mbato uncover (something) by digging
Cite this entry
excavate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/excavate
“excavate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/excavate. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “excavate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/excavate.
Source: excavate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.