excavate
verb
[ ˈɛkskəveɪt ]
• make (a hole or channel) by digging.
• "the cheapest way of doing this was to excavate a long trench"
Similar:
dig,
dig out,
hollow out,
scoop out,
gouge,
cut out,
bore,
burrow,
tunnel,
sink,
quarry,
mine,
• remove earth carefully from (an area) in order to find buried remains.
• "the site was excavated in 1975"
Origin:
late 16th century: from Latin excavat- ‘hollowed out’, from the verb excavare, from ex- ‘out’ + cavare ‘make or become hollow’ (from cavus ‘hollow’).
