scuba

[skoo-buh]

noun

1. a portable breathing device for free-swimming divers, consisting of a mouthpiece joined by hoses to one or two tanks of compressed air that are strapped on the back.

2. scuba diving.

verb (used without object)

scubaed, scubaing 

1. scuba-dive.

scuba

/ ˈskjuːbə /

noun

1. 1. an apparatus used in skindiving, consisting of a cylinder or cylinders containing compressed air attached to a breathing apparatus

   2. ( as modifier )

      scuba diving

Word History and Origins

Origin of scuba¹

1950–55; s(elf )- c(ontained) u(nderwater) b(reathing) a(pparatus)

Word History and Origins

Origin of scuba¹

C20: from the initials of self-contained underwater breathing apparatus

Example Sentences

A team of litter-picking scuba divers have recovered what is believed to be a Russian tracking device off the Welsh coast.

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Marine explorers know that “scuba” is an acronym for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.

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And, perhaps most important, he would forever be known as the father of scuba diving.

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East Berliners responded creatively—some took a newfound interest in scuba diving and mapped out underwater routes to freedom.

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"The military scuba divers who found the bodies of my husband and daughter said that they had managed to get out of the car and they were together, holding each other," says Toñi, in tears.

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