cave

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cave

(kāv)

1. A hollow or natural passage under or into the earth, especially one with an opening to the surface.

2. A storage cellar, especially for wine.

v. caved, cav·ing, caves

v.tr.

1. To dig or hollow out.

2. To cause to collapse or fall in. Often used with in: The impact caved in the roof of the car.

v.intr.

1. To fall in; collapse. Often used with in: The walls caved in during the earthquake.

2. To give up all opposition; yield. Often used with in: The school committee caved in to the demands of parents.

3. To explore caves.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin cava, from neuter pl. of cavus, hollow; see keuə- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

cave

(keɪv)

1. (Physical Geography) an underground hollow with access from the ground surface or from the sea, often found in limestone areas and on rocky coastlines

2. (Historical Terms) history Brit a secession or a group seceding from a political party on some issue. See Adullamite

3. (modifier) living in caves

(tr) to hollow out

[C13: from Old French, from Latin cava, plural of cavum cavity, from cavus hollow]

cave

(ˈkeɪvɪ)

guard or lookout (esp in the phrase keep cave)

sentence substitute

watch out!

[from Latin cavē! beware!]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cave

(keɪv)

n., v. caved, cav•ing. n.

1. a hollow in the earth, esp. one opening more or less horizontally into a hill, mountain, etc.

2. a storage cellar, esp. for wine.

v.t.

3. Mining. to cause (overlying rock) to collapse into a stope or sublevel; undermine.

v.i.

4. to collapse (often fol. by in).

5. cave in,

a. to fall in; collapse.

b. to cause to fall in or collapse.

c. to yield; surrender.

[1175–1225; Middle English < Old French < Late Latin cava (feminine singular), Latin cava, neuter pl. of cavum hole]

cave

(kāv)

A hollow or natural passage under the earth or in the side of a hill or mountain with an opening to the surface. Caves can form in many ways, but especially from the dissolving of limestone.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cave

a small group of politicians who break away from the main party; a splinter party.

Example: cave of Adullam, 1866.

cave

Past participle: caved
Gerund: caving

Imperative
cave
cave

Present
I cave
you cave
he/she/it caves
we cave
you cave
they cave

Preterite
I caved
you caved
he/she/it caved
we caved
you caved
they caved

Present Continuous
I am caving
you are caving
he/she/it is caving
we are caving
you are caving
they are caving

Present Perfect
I have caved
you have caved
he/she/it has caved
we have caved
you have caved
they have caved

Past Continuous
I was caving
you were caving
he/she/it was caving
we were caving
you were caving
they were caving

Past Perfect
I had caved
you had caved
he/she/it had caved
we had caved
you had caved
they had caved

Future
I will cave
you will cave
he/she/it will cave
we will cave
you will cave
they will cave

Future Perfect
I will have caved
you will have caved
he/she/it will have caved
we will have caved
you will have caved
they will have caved

Future Continuous
I will be caving
you will be caving
he/she/it will be caving
we will be caving
you will be caving
they will be caving

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been caving
you have been caving
he/she/it has been caving
we have been caving
you have been caving
they have been caving

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been caving
you will have been caving
he/she/it will have been caving
we will have been caving
you will have been caving
they will have been caving

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been caving
you had been caving
he/she/it had been caving
we had been caving
you had been caving
they had been caving

Conditional
I would cave
you would cave
he/she/it would cave
we would cave
you would cave
they would cave

Past Conditional
I would have caved
you would have caved
he/she/it would have caved
we would have caved
you would have caved
they would have caved

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

cave

1. A Latin word meaning beware.

2. A hole in the Earth’s crust, produced by water erosion or lava.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	cave - a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea cavern - a large cave or a large chamber in a cave cove - small or narrow cave in the side of a cliff or mountain floor - the lower inside surface of any hollow structure; "the floor of the pelvis"; "the floor of the cave" geological formation, formation - (geology) the geological features of the earth grot, grotto - a small cave (usually with attractive features) roof - the inner top surface of a covered area or hollow space; "the roof of the cave was very high"; "I could see the roof of the bear's mouth" stalactite - a cylinder of calcium carbonate hanging from the roof of a limestone cave stalagmite - a cylinder of calcium carbonate projecting upward from the floor of a limestone cave wall - a vertical (or almost vertical) smooth rock face (as of a cave or mountain)
Verb	1.	cave - hollow out as if making a cave or opening; "The river was caving the banks" undermine core out, hollow out, hollow - remove the interior of; "hollow out a tree trunk" sap - excavate the earth beneath
	2.	cave - explore natural caves spelunk explore - travel to or penetrate into; "explore unknown territory in biology"

cave

noun hollow, cavern, grotto, den, cavity creatures such as bats and moths which shelter in caves

Quotations
"Caves: Usually inhabited by thieves. Always full of snakes" [Gustave Flaubert The Dictionary of Received Ideas]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

cave

noun

A hollow beneath the earth's surface:

cavern, grotto.

phrasal verb
cave in

1. To fall in:

buckle, collapse, crumple, give, go.

Idiom: give way.

2. To suddenly lose all health or strength:

break (down), collapse, crack, drop, give out, succumb.

Informal: crack up.

Slang: conk out.

Idiom: give way.

Translations

كَهْف

пещера

jeskyně

hule

Höhle

σπηλιά σπήλαιο

cueva caverna gruta

غار

luolamurtuaporausjätesiipisoppi

grotte caverne creux

pećinaspilja

barlang

gua

hellir

grotta caverna cavità crollare

ほら穴

동굴

cavernaspelunca

įkristiurvinis žmogus

ala

cavernăgrotăpeşteră

вертеп пещера

jamavotlina

grotta

ถ้ำ

mağara

hanghang động

山洞洞穴

cave

¹ [keɪv]

A. N → cueva f, caverna f

B. CPD cave dweller N → cavernícola mf, troglodita mf
cave painting N → pintura f rupestre

cave in VI + ADV

1. [ceiling] → derrumbarse, desplomarse; [ground] → hundirse

2. (fig) (= submit) → ceder, rendirse

cave

² (o.f.) [ˈkeɪvɪ] EXCL (Brit) (Scol) cave! → ¡ojo!, ¡ahí viene!
to keep cave → estar a la mira

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

cave

[ˈkeɪv]

n → caverne f, grotte f

vi
to go caving → faire de la spéléologie, faire de la spéléo

cave in

[roof] → s'effondrer

(= give in) [person] → céder

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

cave

cave dweller

n → Höhlenbewohner m

cave-in

n → Einsturz m; (= place) → Einsturzstelle f

caveman

n → Höhlenmensch m; (fig) → Tier nt (inf), → Urmensch m; cave instincts → Urinstinkte pl

cave painting

n → Höhlenmalerei f

cave

n to keep cave (dated Brit Sch sl) → Schmiere stehen (inf)

cave

n → Höhle f

vi to go caving → auf Höhlenexpedition(en) gehen; he did a lot of caving in his youth → in seiner Jugend hat er viel Höhlenforschung betrieben

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

cave

[keɪv]

1. n → grotta, caverna

2. vi to go caving → fare speleologia

cave in vi + adv (ceiling, roof) → sfondarsi, crollare; (ground) → franare, cedere

cave

(keiv) noun

a large natural hollow in rock or in the earth. The children explored the caves.

ˈcaveman (-mӕn) noun

in prehistoric times, a person who lived in a cave. Cavemen dressed in the skins of animals.

cave in

(of walls etc) to collapse.

cave

→ كَهْف jeskyně hule Höhle σπηλιά cueva luola grotte pećina grotta ほら穴 동굴 grot hule jaskinia caverna пещера grotta ถ้ำ mağara hang động 洞穴

cave

n. depresión;

caverna.

References in classic literature ?

And right gingerly he crept out or his cave and descended to the ground.

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It was then, for the first time, that I noticed a slight vapor filling the cave. It was extremely tenuous and only noticeable against the opening which led to daylight.

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Then, turning about the corner of a wall-like outcropping of granite, we came upon a smooth area of two or three acres before the base of the towering pile of ice and rock that had baffled us for days, and before us beheld the dark and cavernous mouth of a cave.

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Along this I advanced, and at a sudden turning, a few yards beyond the canyon's end, the path widened, and at my left I saw the opening to a large cave. Before, the ledge continued until it passed from sight about another projecting buttress of the mountain.

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Public prayers had been offered up for them, and many and many a private prayer that had the petitioner's whole heart in it; but still no good news came from the cave. The majority of the searchers had given up the quest and gone back to their daily avocations, saying that it was plain the children could never be found.

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The forces of Hooja--a great horde of savage Sagoths and primeval cave men--were work-ing their way up the steep cliff-face, their agility but slightly less than that of my captors who had clambered so nimbly aloft--even he who was burdened by my weight.

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Her first act was to beckon me to follow her outside, and there she pointed to the explanation of our rescue from the bear--a huge saber-tooth tiger, its fine coat and its flesh torn to ribbons, lying dead a few paces from our cave, and beside it, equally mangled, and disemboweled, was the carcass of a huge cave-bear.

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So the Goat came to the Lion's cave, and stopped there listening for a long time.

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Two miles below Hornberg castle is a cave in a low cliff, which the captain of the raft said had once been occupied by a beautiful heiress of Hornberg--the Lady Gertrude-- in the old times.

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But he did not find her, and he saw that he lay in a cave upon a bed of grass, while all about him were the skins of beasts, and at his side was a pot filled with water.

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A little red-skinned wife and a cave of our own were freely offered to each of us if we would but forget our own people and dwell forever upon the plateau.

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Thou makest this cave sultry and poisonous, thou bad old magician!

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