adjective
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suggestive of a cavern in vastness, darkness, etc
cavernous hungry eyes
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filled with small cavities; porous
-
(of rocks) containing caverns or cavities
Other Word Forms
- cavernously adverb
- intercavernous adjective
- uncavernous adjective
- uncavernously adverb
Etymology
Origin of cavernous
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Latin word cavernōsus. See cavern, -ous
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.
At a cavernous facility in Morbi, in India's western Gujarat state, a 200-metre-long propane-powered kiln that normally fires clay nonstop is silent.
From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026
A cavernous main auditorium offered days full of panels and speakers.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
For one whole week, thousands of delegates filed into the cavernous Great Hall of the People in Beijing to attend one of the most important events on the Chinese political calendar.
From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026
It showed a half-dozen upright missiles moving along the tracked carousel in a cavernous tunnel.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
The phone rings and rings in the cavernous house, several receivers in different rooms trilling in different keys.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
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.
