dive
[ dahyv ]
/ daɪv /
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verb (used without object), dived or dove, dived, div·ing.
verb (used with object), dived or dove, dived, div·ing.
to cause to plunge, submerge, or descend.
to insert quickly; plunge: He dived his hand into his pocket.
noun
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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 dip1
usage note for dive
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 WORDS FROM dive
post·dive, adjectivepre·dive, adjectiveun·der·dive, nounun·der·dive, verb (used without object), un·der·dived or un·der·dove, un·der·dived, un·der·div·ing.Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use dive in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for dive
dive
/ (daɪv) /
verb dives, diving or dived or US dove or dived (mainly intr)
noun
Word Origin for dive
Old English dӯfan; related to Old Norse dӯfa to dip, Frisian dīvi; see deep, dip
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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