excavator

/ˈekskəveɪtə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈekskəveɪtər/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈek-skə-ˌvā-tər/ (ame, mw)

excavator — noun

  • excavatorsingular
  • excavatorsplural

1. A large machine with a long arm and bucket that digs earth and lifts it away.

1.名詞B2
釋義

A large machine with a long arm and bucket that digs earth and lifts it away.

例句

The excavator dug a deep pit beside the new apartment block.

dig a pit with an excavator

Bilal moved the excavator slowly around the broken water main.

operate an excavator around a work area

同義詞
  • digger

    an informal everyday word for a machine that digs earth

  • backhoe

    a more specific digging vehicle, usually smaller and fitted with a rear digging arm

  • earthmover

    a broad term for heavy machines that move soil, not just excavators

文法句型

operate an excavator

excavator + bucket / arm / operator

用法筆記

Usually refers to the whole digging vehicle on building sites and roadworks. In informal speech, some speakers say digger, while backhoe usually names a smaller machine with a rear digging arm.

常見錯誤

❌They used an excavator to push the whole hill flat.
✅They used a bulldozer to push the whole hill flat.
💡An excavator is mainly for digging and lifting soil, not for shoving earth forward with a blade.
❌The warehouse moved pallets with an excavator.
✅The warehouse moved pallets with a forklift.
💡An excavator is an outdoor digging machine, not a vehicle for lifting goods inside a building.

2. Someone whose job or task is to remove soil so that buried things can be found.

2.名詞C1
釋義

Someone whose job or task is to remove soil so that buried things can be found.

例句

Archaeologists hired two local excavators to uncover the stone floor.

team of excavators on a dig

Olivia worked as an excavator on the rescue dig after the landslide.

work as an excavator

同義詞
  • digger

    a more informal word for a person who digs

  • archaeologist

    more specific because it refers to a trained researcher, not every excavator

  • excavation worker

    a practical job title that focuses on site work rather than discovery

文法句型

work as an excavator

team of excavators

用法筆記

Often appears in archaeology or rescue-dig contexts when the focus is the person doing the digging. In everyday English, people more often use a more specific job word such as archaeologist, worker, or operator.

常見錯誤

❌The museum bought a new excavator for the summer dig.
✅The museum hired a new excavator for the summer dig.
💡In this sense, excavator means a person, so the verb should fit a worker, not a machine.
❌The excavator pressed the controls in the cab all day.
✅The excavator operator pressed the controls in the cab all day.
💡This sense means someone digging in the ground, not specifically the person driving the machine.