excavate definition

1. recover through digging
• examples: Schliemann excavated Troy
• examples: excavate gold
2. find by digging in the ground
• examples: I dug up an old box in the garden
3. form by hollowing
• examples: Carnegie had a lake excavated for Princeton University's rowing team
• examples: excavate a cavity
4. remove the inner part or the core of
• examples: the mining company wants to excavate the hillside