dive

American  

[dahyv] / daɪv /

verb (used without object)

dived, dove, dived, diving

1. to plunge into water, especially headfirst.

2. to go below the surface of the water, as a submarine.

3. to plunge, fall, or descend through the air, into the earth, etc..

   The acrobats dived into nets.

4. Aeronautics. (of an airplane) to descend rapidly.

5. to penetrate suddenly into something, as with the hand.

   to dive into one's purse.

6. to dart.

   to dive into a doorway.

7. to enter deeply or plunge into a subject, activity, etc.

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verb (used with object)

dived, dove, dived, diving

1. to cause to plunge, submerge, or descend.

2. to insert quickly; plunge.

   He dived his hand into his pocket.

noun

1. an act or instance of diving.

2. a jump or plunge into water, especially in a prescribed way from a diving board.

3. the vertical or nearly vertical descent of an airplane at a speed surpassing the possible speed of the same plane in level flight.

4. a submerging, as of a submarine or skin diver.

5. a dash, plunge, or lunge, as if throwing oneself at or into something.

   He made a dive for the football.

6. a sudden or sharp decline, as in stock prices.

7. Slang.

   1. a dingy or disreputable bar or nightclub.

      Grab a beer with some locals at the dive on the corner.

   2. any shabby, run-down place, especially a residence.

8. Boxing. a false show of being knocked out, usually in a bout whose result has been prearranged.

   to take a dive in an early round.

9. Also called simulated contact.  Soccer. a dramatic fall or feigned injury intended to persuade officials to penalize the opposing team.

   His dive fooled the ref into giving his team a free kick.

dive British  

/ daɪv /

verb

1. to plunge headfirst into water

2. (of a submarine, swimmer, etc) to submerge under water

3. (also tr) to fly (an aircraft) in a steep nose-down descending path, or (of an aircraft) to fly in such a path

4. to rush, go, or reach quickly, as in a headlong plunge

   he dived for the ball

5. (also tr; foll by in or into) to dip or put (one's hand) quickly or forcefully (into)

   to dive into one's pocket

6. to involve oneself (in something), as in eating food

7. slang soccer (of a footballer) to pretend to have been tripped or impeded by an opposing player in order to win a free kick or penalty

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noun

1. a headlong plunge into water, esp one of several formalized movements executed as a sport

2. an act or instance of diving

3. a steep nose-down descent of an aircraft

4. slang a disreputable or seedy bar or club

5. slang boxing the act of a boxer pretending to be knocked down or out

   he took a dive in the fourth round

6. slang soccer the act of a player pretending to have been tripped or impeded

Usage

Both dived and dove are standard as the past tense of dive. Dived, historically the older form, is somewhat more common in edited writing, but dove occurs there so frequently that it also must be considered standard: The rescuer dove into 20 feet of icy water. Dove is an Americanism that probably developed by analogy with alternations like drive, drove and ride, rode. It is the more common form in speech in the northern United States and in Canada, and its use seems to be spreading. The past participle of dive is always dived.

Other Word Forms

• postdive adjective
• predive adjective
• underdive noun

Etymology

Origin of dive

First recorded before 900; Middle English diven “to dive, dip,” Old English dȳfan “to dip” (causative of dūfan “to dive, sink”); cognate with Old Norse dȳfa “to dip,” German taufen “to baptize”; akin to dip ¹

Explanation

To dive is to jump head first into the water. You might dare your friend to dive off a boat into a cold lake. When you dive, you plunge into a pool or other body of water. A bird or airplane also dives when it descends suddenly. The plunge or drop itself is also a dive: "When the plane went into a dive I had to close my eyes." Since 1871, dive has also been used informally for a low-rent or slightly dangerous bar, possibly from the idea that descending to a basement-level establishment involved a "dive" of sorts.

Example Sentences

GLJ Research analyst Gordon Johnson took a deep dive into options trading for the stock.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

That will set up the capsule to dive into the Earth’s atmosphere, putting to the test a heat shield designed to protect the ship and astronauts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

The volatility index, or VIX, is an options-derived measure of expected S&P 500 volatility that usually jumps when stocks take a dive, and has thus become known as Wall Street’s fear gauge.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

“What was needed of the Fact Finder was a dive into the financial analysis of both parties to determine what portion of the budget could be allocated to these needs,” wrote the union’s Brian McNamara.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

Together, we splash across the red river and dive into the Eloko Forests.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Related Words

• dip
• disappear
• drop
• duck
• fall
• jump
• leap
• lunge
• nose-dive
• plummet
• plunge
• swoop
• vanish
• vault