Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

excavate

/ˈɛk.skə.veɪt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.66 in modern English

Syllables
ex-ca-va-te
IPA
/ˈɛk.skə.veɪt/
20
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
4
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To make a hole in (something); to hollow.

Transitive verb

verb

To remove part of (something) by scooping or digging it out.

Transitive verb

verb

To uncover (something) by digging.

Transitive verb

adj

Made hollow.

adj

excavated, hollowed out

Obsolete

noun

Any member of a major grouping of unicellular eukaryotes, of the clade Excavata.

Etymology

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.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *ḱewh₁-, excavātus

Usage

Inflected Forms

excavates (present, singular) excavating (participle, present) excavated (participle, past) excavated (past) excavates (plural)

Derived Forms

excavatable nonexcavated unexcavated

Phrases

re-excavate

Frequently Paired Words

excavation excavator

Synonyms

dig hollow dig up turn up unearth

Questions

How do you pronounce excavate?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɛk.skə.veɪt/.
What does excavate mean?
To make a hole in (something); to hollow.
Where does excavate come from?
It is traced to Latin. First known use: First attested in 1599.

How to pronounce excavate

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “excavate”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɛk.skə.veɪt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “excavate”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “excavate” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.