crash dive

¹ American  

noun

1. a rapid dive by a submarine made at a steep angle, especially to avoid attack from a surface vessel or airplane.

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crash-dive ² American  

[krash-dahyv, -dahyv] / ˈkræʃˈdaɪv, -ˌdaɪv /

verb (used with or without object)

crash-dived, crash-dove, crash-dived, crash-diving

1. to dive rapidly at a steep angle.

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crash dive British  

noun

1. a sudden steep dive from the surface by a submarine

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verb

1. (usually of an aircraft) to descend steeply and rapidly, before hitting the ground

2. to perform or cause to perform a crash dive

Etymology

Origin of crash dive¹

First recorded in 1915–20

Origin of crash-dive²

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

In the morning, a plane was sighted; an immediate crash dive was ordered, but the ship did not descend far enough, fast enough.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 15, 2020

Henry Erwin of the Army Air Forces, who during World War II grabbed a burning white phosphorous flare and threw it out of the cockpit of a B-29 while it was in a crash dive.

From New York Times • Sep. 23, 2011

The Twelfth, said the Daily Herald, was a "crash dive into banality."

From Time Magazine Archive

O'Connor and Smithson were pushed down into the control room while the U-boat made a crash dive.

From Time Magazine Archive

Such a performance is called a "crash dive."

From World's War Events Volume 3 Beginning with the departure of the first American destroyers for service abroad in April, 1917, and closing with the treaties of peace in 1919. by Churchill, Allen L. (Allen Leon)