cave

[keyv]

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noun

a hollow in the earth, especially one opening more or less horizontally into a hill, mountain, etc.

a storage cellar, especially for wine.

English History. a secession, or a group of seceders, from a political party on some special question.

verb (used with object), caved, cav·ing.

to hollow out.

Mining.

to cause (overlying material) to fall into a stope, sublevel, or the like.
to cause (supports, as stulls or sets) to collapse beneath overlying material.
to fill (a stope or the like) with caved-in material: sub-level caving.

verb (used without object), caved, cav·ing.

to cave in.

Verb Phrases

cave in,

to fall in; collapse.
to cause to fall in or collapse.
Informal.to yield; submit; surrender: The opposition caved in before our superior arguments.

Origin of cave

1175–1225; Middle English < Old French < Late Latin cava (feminine singular), Latin cava, neuter plural of cavum hole, noun use of neuter of cavus hollow

Related formscave·like, adjective

cave canem

[kah-we kah-nem; English key-vee key-nuh m, kah-vey]

Latin.

beware of the dog.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for cave

cavern, grotto, cavity, pothole, den, hollow, subterrane

Examples from the Web for cave

Contemporary Examples of cave

Cast Angelina Jolie in that role with Brad Pitt as the cave hubbie, and maybe we have a blockbuster in the making.
Can Tarzan of the Apes Survive in a Post-Colonial World?
Ted Gioia
November 23, 2014
The existence of the images—which resemble the styles and themes found in European cave art—has been known for some time.
The Oldest Cave Art May Not Be in Europe
Justin Jones
October 9, 2014
It was dark, dank, the walls charcoal-colored, the feeling of a cave.
Fighting Back With Faith: Inside the Yezidis’ Iraqi Temple
Michael Luongo
August 21, 2014
Its name translates to “Cave of the Stone Sepulcher,” but locally it is called by a nickname that means “a place of fear.”
The Cave Where Mayans Sacrificed Humans Is Open for Visitors
Nina Strochlic
August 14, 2014
Ironically, the first archaeologist to explore the cave had a connection to the most legendary fictional explorer.
The Cave Where Mayans Sacrificed Humans Is Open for Visitors
Nina Strochlic
August 14, 2014

Historical Examples of cave

He is silent and abstracted, like one just returned from the cave of Trophonius.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
Quite often the cave gave way to the pressure of the surrounding rock.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
She then returned to the mouth of the cave, and knelt down at Richard Digby's feet.
The Man of Adamant
Nathaniel Hawthorne
But he thrust his head into the cave, shivered, and congratulated himself.
The Man of Adamant
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Tse-tse talked to the girl, of all things, about the love-gift she had put in the cave for me.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin

British Dictionary definitions for cave

cave

noun

an underground hollow with access from the ground surface or from the sea, often found in limestone areas and on rocky coastlines

British history a secession or a group seceding from a political party on some issueSee Adullamite

(modifier) living in caves

verb

(tr) to hollow out

Word Origin for cave

C13: from Old French, from Latin cava, plural of cavum cavity, from cavus hollow

cave

noun

guard or lookout (esp in the phrase keep cave)

sentence substitute

watch out!

Word Origin for cave

from Latin cavē! beware!

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cave

early 13c., from Old French cave "a cave, vault, cellar" (12c.), from Latin cavea "hollow" (place), noun use of neuter plural of adjective cavus "hollow," from PIE root *keue- "a swelling, arch, cavity" (see cumulus). Replaced Old English eorðscrafu. First record of cave man is 1865.

early 15c., caven, "to hollow something out," from cave (n.). Modern sense "to collapse in or down" is 1707, American English, presumably from East Anglian dialectal calve "collapse, fall in," perhaps from Flemish; subsequently influenced by cave (n.). Transitive sense by 1762. Related: Caved; caving. Figurative sense of "yield to pressure" is from 1837.

cave in Science

cave

[kāv]

A naturally occurring underground hollow or passage, especially one with an opening to the surface of the Earth. Caves can form through a variety of processes, including the dissolution of limestone by flowing water, the differential cooling of volcanic magma (which occurs when the outside surface of the lava cools, but the inside continues to flow downwards, forming a hollow tube), or the action of wind and waves along a rocky coast.