cave-in
noun
a collapse, as of anything hollow.
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cave-in
American
[keyv-in]
/ ˈkeɪvˌɪn /
noun
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a collapse, as of anything hollow.
the worst cave-in in the history of mining.
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a place or site of such a collapse.
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submission to something or someone previously opposed or resisted.
His cave-in to such unreasonable demands shocked us.
cave in
British
verb
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to collapse; subside
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informal to yield completely, esp under pressure
noun
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the sudden collapse of a roof, piece of ground, etc, into a hollow beneath it; subsidence
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the site of such a collapse, as at a mine or tunnel
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informal an instance of yielding completely, esp under pressure
cave in
Idioms
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Fall in, collapse, as in The earthquake made the walls cave in . [Early 1700s]
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Give in, admit defeat, as in The prosecutor's questions soon made the witness cave in . [Early 1800s]
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Collapse, faint, or die from exhaustion, as in After a twenty-mile hike I caved in . [Mid-1800s]
Etymology
Origin of cave-in
First recorded in 1700–10; noun use of verb phrase cave in
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:
Mr. Krivak suspensefully spaces out the events of the cave-in, interweaving them with the quiet drama of Ondro’s life as a survivor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
And they do not suggest massive subsidence or a cave-in of the mountain.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2025
To be sure, the cave-in is unlikely to alter billionaire Musk’s jet-set lifestyle, Ten thousand dollars equals .00000006% of his estimated net worth of $165 billion.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2023
The initial cave-in of one of the pit’s walls struck at around 1:00 p.m.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 23, 2023
He found no sign of a cave-in, but there were no lights.
From "The City of Ember" by Jeanne DuPrau
Mr. Huling describes a cave in Florida that was walloped by a powerful, once-in-a-century hurricane, drowning almost all of the 4 million bats inside.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Blasted into 1.9 billion-year-old stable bedrock in Eurajoki, southwest Finland, the geological repository for spent nuclear waste -- dubbed Onkalo which means "cave" in Finnish -- is nearly ready to start operations.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
Then the stage lit up to show a carved-out cave in a cliffside, housing an absolutely killer all-femme backing band in the grotto and a full company of dancers in every hue of the Americas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026
A new study of Neanderthal remains from a cave in Belgium is shedding light on a disturbing aspect of prehistoric life.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 12, 2026
My insides cave in, shoulders collapsing into my chest.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
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.
