dig vs excavate

dig

verb
  • To get by digging; to take from the ground; often with up. 

  • To move hard-packed earth out of the way, especially downward to make a hole with a shovel. Or to drill, or the like, through rocks, roads, or the like. More generally, to make any similar hole by moving material out of the way. 

  • To take ore from its bed, in distinction from making excavations in search of ore. 

  • To defend against an attack hit by the opposing team by successfully passing the ball 

  • To investigate, to research, often followed by out or up. 

  • To thrust; to poke. 

noun
  • Digoxin. 

  • A defensive pass of the ball that has been attacked by the opposing team. 

  • A cutting, sarcastic remark. 

  • An archeological or paleontological investigation, or the site where such an investigation is taking place. 

  • A rare or interesting vinyl record bought second-hand. 

  • A thrust; a poke. 

  • The occupation of digging for gold. 

  • An innings. 

excavate

verb
  • To uncover (something) by digging. 

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

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

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

How often have the words dig and excavate occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )