cavern

American  

[kav-ern] / ˈkæv ərn /

noun

• caverns
  plural

1. a cave, especially one that is large and mostly underground.

2. Pathology. a cavity that is produced by disease, especially one produced in the lungs by tuberculosis.

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verb (used with object)

1. to enclose in or as if in a cavern.

2. to hollow out to form a cavern.

cavern British  

/ ˈkævən /

noun

1. a cave, esp when large and formed by underground water, or a large chamber in a cave

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verb

1. to shut in or as if in a cavern

2. to hollow out

cavern Scientific  

/ kăv′ərn /

1. A large cave.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• caverns
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cavern

1325–75; Middle English caverne < Latin caverna, equivalent to cav ( us ) hollow + -erna, as in cisterna cistern

Explanation

A cavern is a large cave or a large chamber in a cave. Or, if your bedroom is very dark, your mother might want you to open the blinds and let some light into that cavern. The word cavern is a late Middle English word that comes from the Latin root cavus, meaning “hollow.” Cavern typically describes a cave, but it can refer to any large enclosed space, especially a space that's dark like a cave. You might sit in a vast cavern when you go to the opera. Cavern can also be used figuratively — you could explore the dark cavern of your mind.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cavern caverns

The 43-square-foot cavern was filled with colorful leather bags made by a local artisan named Iota Zaggle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

The group had been hunting for gold when they were cut off inside the cavern in an isolated part of the country after flash floods hit on 20 May.

From BBC ● May 29, 2026

The cave, an underwater system which extends for hundreds of meters through multiple chambers and internal passages, begins with a first large, bright cavern with a sandy bottom.

From Barron's ● May 21, 2026

If we were to squeeze through small cracks in his mind’s cavern walls or crawl down its miniaturized hallways toward Erickson's nerve center, we might find ourselves in a room with a broken printer.

From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2025

He felt a wild exultation as he stepped into the cavern.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Freshly excavated caverns 100m underground sit next to stores that have been used for sparkling wine, apples and cheese in recent years.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

In underground salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana, the U.S. government stores hundreds of millions of barrels worth of oil in case of energy shocks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

The 60 Gulf Coast salt caverns that make up the stocks can’t be drawn from or refilled at the rate at which they were designed, federal researchers found.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

Benchmark U.S. natural-gas futures are trading about 10% below year-ago levels thanks to strong domestic production and comfortable spring weather that enabled traders to sock away fuel in storage caverns.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

They snake beneath the entire city, hundreds of miles of tunnels and caverns, some packed with centuries’ worth of bones.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

Related Words

• cave
• grotto
• pothole