cavern
Americannoun
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a cave, especially one that is large and mostly underground.
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Pathology. a cavity that is produced by disease, especially one produced in the lungs by tuberculosis.
verb (used with object)
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to enclose in or as if in a cavern.
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to hollow out to form a cavern.
noun
verb
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to shut in or as if in a cavern
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to hollow out
Etymology
Origin of cavern
1325–75; Middle English caverne < Latin caverna, equivalent to cav ( us ) hollow + -erna, as in cisterna cistern
Explanation
A cavern is a large cave or a large chamber in a cave. Or, if your bedroom is very dark, your mother might want you to open the blinds and let some light into that cavern. The word cavern is a late Middle English word that comes from the Latin root cavus, meaning “hollow.” Cavern typically describes a cave, but it can refer to any large enclosed space, especially a space that's dark like a cave. You might sit in a vast cavern when you go to the opera. Cavern can also be used figuratively — you could explore the dark cavern of your mind.
Vocabulary lists containing cavern
Physical Geography - Introductory
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Geological Features
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Physical Geography - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At the end of this cavern is a corridor, which is almost 30 metres long and three metres across, and which leads to a second chamber of the cave.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
He soon grew to love the cavern system, which dates back 350 million years, and by the age of seven he had explored it more than 100 times.
From BBC • Dec. 25, 2024
For the typically still-water environment, the waves disrupted the shallow shelf that the pupfish use as a spawning area, likely knocking eggs deep into the cavern.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2024
As we make our way into the vast cavern, my guide explains how Eberhard dissected samples and sent them to England for analysis.
From Salon • Aug. 23, 2024
The cavern we’re in shakes—not enough to cause any destruction, but enough to rattle some teeth.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
