caveman
Britishnoun
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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
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.
They knock people sideways before receding into the ocean of imagination that’s existed since the first caveman looked up at the stars and said, “Funny story about those.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2025
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
Bringing the new view to the public hasn’t been easy, Gurche said: “This caveman image is very persistent.”
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 23, 2023
I’d be their version of a caveman, of a guy so undeveloped, so confused by fast objects, that I’d probably get killed in my first winter without thermal underwear.
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
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.
