dive

[dahyv]

verb (used without object), dived or dove, dived, div·ing.

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), 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

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 skindiver.

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.

Informal. a dingy or disreputable bar or nightclub.

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.

Origin of dive

before 900; Middle English diven to dive, dip, Old English dȳfan to dip (causative of dūfan to dive, sink); cognate with Old Norse dȳfa dip, German taufen to baptize; akin to dip¹

Related formspost·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.

Usage note

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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for dived

leap, plunge, dip, hole, duck, lunge, drop, jump, plummet, swoop, fall, vault, vanish, disappear, nose-dive, spring, dash, pitch, nosedive, submersion

Examples from the Web for dived

Contemporary Examples of dived

It dived into their pre-apocalypse backgrounds, their vices and issues with class.
A Perfect 'Walking Dead' Episode
Melissa Leon
March 3, 2014
A friend ran down the pier, dived overboard and pulled him out; but the silk hat floated off with the tide.
If the Economy Improves
David Frum
February 15, 2012
It turns out that she dived into therapy after she learned the family secret.
Carla on the Couch
Eric Pape
October 22, 2009
Michael dived into the filming, learning not only his lines but everyone else's.
Michael Jackson: An Oral History
The Daily Beast
July 6, 2009

Historical Examples of dived

Into the breast pocket of his coat he dived and brought up a wallet.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
As he dived into the intricate problems memories came with them.
The Rock of Chickamauga
Joseph A. Altsheler
Visibly he lost importance as he yielded and dived into his pocket.
The Fortune Hunter
Louis Joseph Vance
With rapid glances he took stock of the women, dived into their very souls.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
Bill nodded with profound gravity, and dived into one of his pockets.
The Law-Breakers
Ridgwell Cullum

British Dictionary definitions for dived

dive

verb dives, diving or dived or US dove or dived (mainly intr)

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 plungehe 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

(usually foll by in or into) to involve oneself (in something), as in eating food

soccer slang (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

boxing slang the act of a boxer pretending to be knocked down or outhe took a dive in the fourth round

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

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 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dived

dive

13c., from Old English dufan "to dive, duck, sink" (intransitive, class II strong verb; past tense deaf, past participle dofen) and dyfan "to dip, submerge" (weak, transitive), from Proto-Germanic *dubijanan, from PIE *dheub- (see deep). Past tense dove is a later formation, perhaps on analogy of drive/drove. Related: Diving. Dive bomber attested by 1939.

dive

c.1700, from dive (v.). Sense of "disreputable bar" is first recorded American English 1871, perhaps because they were usually in basements, and going into one was both a literal and figurative "diving."