cave-in
noun
a collapse, as of anything hollow.
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stave in.
cave-in
American
[keyv-in]
/ ˈkeɪvˌɪn /
noun
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a collapse, as of anything hollow.
the worst cave-in in the history of mining.
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a place or site of such a collapse.
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submission to something or someone previously opposed or resisted.
His cave-in to such unreasonable demands shocked us.
cave in
British
verb
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to collapse; subside
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informal to yield completely, esp under pressure
noun
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the sudden collapse of a roof, piece of ground, etc, into a hollow beneath it; subsidence
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the site of such a collapse, as at a mine or tunnel
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informal an instance of yielding completely, esp under pressure
cave in
Idioms
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Fall in, collapse, as in The earthquake made the walls cave in . [Early 1700s]
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Give in, admit defeat, as in The prosecutor's questions soon made the witness cave in . [Early 1800s]
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Collapse, faint, or die from exhaustion, as in After a twenty-mile hike I caved in . [Mid-1800s]
Etymology
Origin of cave-in
First recorded in 1700–10; noun use of verb phrase cave in
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:
Mr. Krivak suspensefully spaces out the events of the cave-in, interweaving them with the quiet drama of Ondro’s life as a survivor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
And they do not suggest massive subsidence or a cave-in of the mountain.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2025
However, according to a Newsweek article that comprehensively details the changes, it appears more likely that rights issues from Fox 5 in Atlanta were the issue, not a political cave-in.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 26, 2023
To be sure, the cave-in is unlikely to alter billionaire Musk’s jet-set lifestyle, Ten thousand dollars equals .00000006% of his estimated net worth of $165 billion.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2023
If he pulled too hard, he feared, he'd cause a cave-in.
From "Holes" by Louis Sachar
Mr. Huling describes a cave in Florida that was walloped by a powerful, once-in-a-century hurricane, drowning almost all of the 4 million bats inside.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Blasted into 1.9 billion-year-old stable bedrock in Eurajoki, southwest Finland, the geological repository for spent nuclear waste -- dubbed Onkalo which means "cave" in Finnish -- is nearly ready to start operations.
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
So far, five of the seven initially missing have been rescued but it is believed the remaining two men are trapped deeper inside the cave in the mountain area of central Xaysomboun province.
From BBC ● May 31, 2026
Then the stage lit up to show a carved-out cave in a cliffside, housing an absolutely killer all-femme backing band in the grotto and a full company of dancers in every hue of the Americas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026
But this was one instance when she seemed just to cave in.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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.
