What does excavate mean?
Word: Excavate
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Excavate means to dig in the ground, especially to uncover very old buildings or objects, or to make a large hole.
Synonyms: dig, dig up, hollow out
Antonyms: bury, fill in
Word origin: From Latin excavat-, a form of excavare, "to hollow out", from cavus, "hollow".
How do you spell excavate?
Syllables: ex - ca - vate
Tricky part: The start is spelt e-x-c even though many people say "es-kuh": students often write es and lose the x.
Watch out for: escavate, exavate
Memory tip: X marks the spot on a treasure map, and you excavate right where the x is.
Excavate in a sentence
Example 1: Experts excavated the ancient city of Dholavira in Gujarat.
Example 2: Workers excavated a deep pit for the foundations of the new hospital wing.
Example 3: My brother excavated an old coin from the garden while planting tomatoes.
Fun Fact
At Keeladi in Tamil Nadu, excavations since 2015 have uncovered thousands of objects from an ancient town on the banks of the Vaigai river.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the option in which the following letters will fit in the given order:
a, a, e
a) d_l_g_te
b) c_m_r_
c) exc_v_t_
d) inn_v_t_
Show answer
c) exc_v_t_. Only excavate takes a, a and e; innovate needs o, a, e, delegate e, e, a and camera a, e, a.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with the correct options:
1. excavate 2. dwindle 3. replenish a. refill b. unearth c. shrink
a) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
b) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
c) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
d) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
Show answer
c) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a. To unearth something is to excavate it, things that dwindle shrink, and to replenish a store is to refill it.
Spell Spies
Choose the misspelt word/s in the given sentence:
The team began to excavate the site near the river, hoping to find more potery from the old town.
a) excavate and potery
b) river and potery
c) only potery
d) only excavate
Show answer
c) only potery. Pottery needs a double t, as in potter, while everything else in the sentence is right.
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
ecexavta 12345678
a) 14236875
b) 15246873
c) 54216873
d) 14256873
Show answer
d) 14256873. That order puts e and x first, then c, a, v, a, t, e, building excavate.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A team excavating an old site is most likely to work with ___.
a) needles, thread and buttons
b) pens, rulers and erasers
c) rollers, paint and ladders
d) spades, trowels and brushes
Show answer
d) spades, trowels and brushes
2. Whose job most often involves excavating?
a) an archaeologist
b) a choreographer
c) a pharmacist
d) a photographer
Show answer
a) an archaeologist
