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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
A couple of weeks later, Mr. Norman writes, Epstein set off to the nearby Cavern Club in his “beautifully polished brogues” to catch the Beatles during a lunchtime set.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
Before this discovery, the earliest known human remains in northern Britain came from a 10,000-year-old burial uncovered in nearby Kent's Bank Cavern in 2013.
From Science Daily • May 20, 2026
As well as being hidden around LIPA, postcards were left at John Lennon's childhood home in south Liverpool and a the city's Cavern Club.
From BBC • Jan. 30, 2026
As Mr. Frantz said of the Bowery’s CBGB, in reference to the Beatles’ venue during their Liverpool years, “this could be our Cavern Club.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025
“They seem fairly obvious, too. Between Great Hall and Cavern Hole there is a flight of stairs. Come on, old mouse.”
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
