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Civil Engineering & Construction vocabulary · Site Work and Equipment

Excavation

Meaning in civil engineering & construction, with examples

/ˌekskəˈveɪʃən/nounCore term

In civil engineering & construction, excavation means: The process of digging out and removing soil or rock to make space for foundations, basements, trenches or tunnels; also the hole that is dug.

In Turkish: kazı, hafriyat

How it is used

Used for both the activity and the hole. Excavations are dug, supported, inspected and backfilled; deep ones need support (shoring) and edge protection. The verb is excavate and the machine is an excavator.

Example sentences

  1. Excavation for the basement will take about three weeks.

  2. Keep the spoil heaps well back from the edge of the excavation.

Common collocations

  • bulk excavation
  • deep excavation
  • trench excavation
  • excavation support
  • excavation works
  • earthworksAll the work of moving soil on a site: excavating, transporting, filling, compacting and shaping the ground to the required levels.
  • excavatorA heavy machine with a long arm, a bucket and a rotating cab, used to dig soil, load trucks and lift or move material on site.
  • backfillSoil or granular material placed back into an excavation around foundations, pipes or walls after they have been built; also the act of filling it.
  • groundwaterWater held underground in the soil and in cracks in rock. Its upper surface is called the water table.
  • edge protectionBarriers such as guardrails, toe boards and mesh panels placed along the open edges of slabs, roofs, stairs and excavations to stop people and materials from falling.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Site Work and Equipment

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