caveman
Americannoun
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cavemen
plural
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a cave dweller, especially of the Stone Age.
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a man who behaves in a rough, primitive manner, especially toward women.
noun
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a man of the Palaeolithic age; cave dweller
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informal a man who is primitive or brutal in behaviour, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of caveman
First recorded in 1860–65
Explanation
In books or movies, a caveman is a character based on early prehistoric humans. Cavemen live in caves and hunt with simple weapons like rocks and clubs. You can also use caveman to refer to any crude and uncivilized guy — like your older brother who tries to impress dates with his belching skills. "The Flintstones" is a perfect example of a cartoon caveman stereotype—the characters live with dinosaurs and wear animal hides as clothing. In reality, the early humans who lived in caves and left behind Paleolithic cave paintings existed at a completely different time than dinosaurs. And scholars believe that most humans during this period lived in simple tents or other temporary structures.
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.
See Examples For:
But it’s also part of Netflix’s “rise and fall” true crime genre, cautioning against believing in figures like Johnson, who hooks young men by flogging a version of caveman masculinity that associates virility with dominance.
From Salon ● Jun. 1, 2025
"I gotta go into my cave and become a caveman," he told CBS news.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2024
The lobby was conceived as a tunnel, carved out of solid rock, its sidewalls polished, the floor worn smooth, and the ceiling incised and decorated as a civilized caveman might have done it.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 8, 2023
And yet, here we are, in 2023, with two of history’s most famous technologists returning to the ultimate caveman activity: fighting.
From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2023
A caveman owned one spearhead or many spearheads; he had eaten one crushed lizard or many crushed lizards.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
At which point, they had to come running toward the roo, bellowing and brandishing their golf clubs like cavemen on the fifth hole, just to get it to stop charging.
From Salon ● Nov. 13, 2023
"Readers can expect to meet characters ranging from cavemen to gnomes, wizards to ghosts, and read about time travel tourism, the haunting of Council offices, and a visitor from another planet," the publisher added.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2023
He set five peculiar creatures — something like futuristic cavemen — gyrating across the stage, dressed head-to-toe in dark gray unitards, designed by Rauschenberg, with reflectors shining on their heads and hands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2018
I loved the Geico cavemen but that’s the extent of my affection for Neanderthals.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 20, 2017
His dad said even the cavemen had geniuses among them.
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
