cavern
Americannoun
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a cave, especially one that is large and mostly underground.
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Pathology. a cavity that is produced by disease, especially one produced in the lungs by tuberculosis.
verb (used with object)
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to enclose in or as if in a cavern.
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to hollow out to form a cavern.
noun
verb
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to shut in or as if in a cavern
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to hollow out
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.
Vocabulary lists containing cavern
Physical Geography - Introductory
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Geological Features
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Physical Geography - Middle School
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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.
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
Emotionally, after riding through a cavern featuring a frog-led band with a firefly chorus, all creating a rousing, sing-along take on “Dig a Little Deeper,” the mood is one of pure uplift.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2024
Once the fog clears, the camera sweeps into an underground cavern filled with lava.
From BBC • May 30, 2024
Sitting next to one of more than a dozen pillars embedded into this cavern, he pulls out a series of syringes and bottles, taking a sample of the water next to the metal.
From Seattle Times • May 30, 2024
Above us, on the ceiling of this great big cavern, are thousands and thousands of blue-green shimmers that I recognize instantly from my fifth-grade world geography class.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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.
