- plural of diva.
dive
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to plunge into water, especially headfirst.
-
to go below the surface of the water, as a submarine.
-
to plunge, fall, or descend through the air, into the earth, etc..
The acrobats dived into nets.
-
Aeronautics. (of an airplane) to descend rapidly.
-
to penetrate suddenly into something, as with the hand.
to dive into one's purse.
-
to dart.
to dive into a doorway.
-
to enter deeply or plunge into a subject, activity, etc.
verb (used with object)
-
to cause to plunge, submerge, or descend.
-
to insert quickly; plunge.
He dived his hand into his pocket.
noun
-
an act or instance of diving.
-
a jump or plunge into water, especially in a prescribed way from a diving board.
-
the vertical or nearly vertical descent of an airplane at a speed surpassing the possible speed of the same plane in level flight.
-
a submerging, as of a submarine or skin diver.
-
a dash, plunge, or lunge, as if throwing oneself at or into something.
He made a dive for the football.
-
a sudden or sharp decline, as in stock prices.
-
Slang.
-
a dingy or disreputable bar or nightclub.
Grab a beer with some locals at the dive on the corner.
-
any shabby, run-down place, especially a residence.
-
-
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.
-
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.
verb
-
to plunge headfirst into water
-
(of a submarine, swimmer, etc) to submerge under water
-
(also tr) to fly (an aircraft) in a steep nose-down descending path, or (of an aircraft) to fly in such a path
-
to rush, go, or reach quickly, as in a headlong plunge
he dived for the ball
-
(also tr; foll by in or into) to dip or put (one's hand) quickly or forcefully (into)
to dive into one's pocket
-
to involve oneself (in something), as in eating food
-
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
noun
-
a headlong plunge into water, esp one of several formalized movements executed as a sport
-
an act or instance of diving
-
a steep nose-down descent of an aircraft
-
slang a disreputable or seedy bar or club
-
slang boxing the act of a boxer pretending to be knocked down or out
he took a dive in the fourth round
-
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
divesimple
-
divessimple
-
have divedperfect
-
have doveperfect
-
has divedperfect
-
has doveperfect
-
am divingprogressive
-
are divingprogressive
-
is divingprogressive
-
have been divingperfect progressive
-
has been divingperfect progressive
Past
-
divedsimple
-
dovesimple
-
had divedperfect
-
had doveperfect
-
was divingprogressive
-
were divingprogressive
-
had been divingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing dive
"Hitching a Ride"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Going Down: Synonyms for "Fall"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Words with Two Past-Tense Forms That Creeped (or Crept) into English
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
He even thinks the tech could get people to reread old favorites: "Now is the time to maybe dive into areas where it was really hard to do in the past."
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Oil prices took a dive into the red in early trading Monday, reversing an earlier sharp rally, after a report that a 10-day cease-fire proposal was made triggered a wave of selling.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
After reviewing the recordings, Judah confirmed that a goblin shark had indeed been captured on video during a livestreamed dive at an unnamed seamount northwest of Jarvis Island.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 8, 2026
He cites one layman’s description of the transformative experience: “I can dive in with a long face and what feels like a terminal case of depression, and come out a whistling idiot.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
I crouched, ready to duck, dodge, dive, weave, whatever was necessary to take this cat down.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
But then a beat later, she laughs it off and dives in, remembering that her husband showed her an Instagram post from Nolan’s set revealing how the movie’s Cyclops was, in fact, a puppet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
For the discovery, the Fendouzhe submersible carried out 32 dives in 2023 -- though what it found was only revealed in Nature on Wednesday.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
They hover with a calculated theatricality: “Hat Rack” drops like a predatory spider; the shovels’ metal scoops are poised like guillotine blades; and “Bottle Rack” dives like a missile—an apt metaphor for their impact.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
This is where a plane climbs and nose dives to create weightless conditions like in space, giving the researchers 22 seconds to gather data before the maneuver is repeated to build up their analysis.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
He ran as a peregrine falcon dives, he ran as a storm wind blows, he ran like Thialfi, and nobody has ever run like Thialfi, not before and not since.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average, another beneficiary of the AI trade, declined 1.3% as Tokyo Electron 8035 -3.57%decrease; red down pointing triangle shed 2.45% and Kioxia Holdings 285A -11.13%decrease; red down pointing triangle dived 11%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Soldier Ivan Pyrtsu -- on rare leave from his unit -- had his eyes peeled on his three daughters as they dived into the cool water.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
In early trade, Seoul's Kospi dived more than four percent with chip giants SK hynix and Samsung down around five percent each.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
After rescinding Ream's caution, Makkelie instead booked former Newcastle United forward Almiron, who had clearly dived.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
Muskrat said, “I’ll try,” and he dived down.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
A survey of the Blean will focus on six endangered species that are found there, including the the heath fritillary butterfly, one of the UK's rarest, and the turtle dove.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Despite having been in basic training only eight months, he knew what that meant, and dove for the floor.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
Warsh may be more of a dove on rates than he appears at first glance.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026
“Then when I got the script and dove into it a little bit more, I was like ‘Ooh, this is a way no one has ever seen me.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
He dove even lower, arcing behind the ships and squinting through his gun sight.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
While fishing a canal, I spot an otter as it emerges from the water and climbs onto the opposite bank, clutching a writhing iguana in its paws and then diving back in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Texas Instruments shares were falling while STMicroelectronics stock was diving on Thursday, after both makers of analog semiconductors struggled to meet heightened expectations after reporting strong demand in the second quarter.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
They spend most of their lives far from shore, usually traveling in small groups and diving deep to hunt squid and fish.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
Alfonzo made a diving tag on Volpe to prevent a run.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
There would be no need for Dumpster diving.
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
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.
