adjective
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suggestive of a cavern in vastness, darkness, etc
cavernous hungry eyes
-
filled with small cavities; porous
-
(of rocks) containing caverns or cavities
Other Word Forms
- cavernously adverb
- intercavernous adjective
- uncavernous adjective
- uncavernously adverb
Etymology
Origin of cavernous
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Latin word cavernōsus. See cavern, -ous
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.
When these sides met in the short-lived Nations Cup 15 years ago, only 530 people turned up at Dublin's cavernous Aviva Stadium to watch a Wales side featuring Bellamy win 2-0.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
For one whole week, thousands of delegates filed into the cavernous Great Hall of the People in Beijing to attend one of the most important events on the Chinese political calendar.
From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026
Delegates from across China gathered in the cavernous Great Hall of the People for a series of highly orchestrated meetings in Beijing known as the Two Sessions, overseen by President Xi Jinping.
From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026
The echoing aphorism is apparently nowhere truer than in cavernous Olympic hockey ice arenas.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
They take him and two younger boys, sitting nearby, to a cavernous railroad shed, where seven other officers are holding twenty migrants.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
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.
