cave-in
noun
a collapse, as of anything hollow.
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.
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
Short of a complete cave-in between now and the Aug. 1 trade deadline, the Angels can’t trade Ohtani.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 22, 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
Tad hollered as he got closer to the cave-in of desks and two-by-fours and tons of other junk that must have once been on the floor above this one.
From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau
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.
