cave
see also: Cave
Pronunciation Noun

cave (plural caves)

  1. A large, naturally-occurring cavity formed underground or in the face of a cliff or a hillside.
    We found a cave on the mountainside where we could take shelter.
  2. A hole, depression, or gap in earth or rock, whether natural or man-made.
  3. A storage cellar, especially for wine or cheese.
    This wine has been aged in our cave for thirty years.
  4. A place of retreat, such as a man cave.
    My room was a cozy cave where I could escape from my family.
  5. (caving) A naturally-occurring cavity in bedrock which is large enough to be entered by an adult.
    It was not strictly a cave, but a narrow fissure in the rock.
  6. (nuclear physics) A shielded area where nuclear experiments can be carried out.
  7. (drilling, uncountable) Debris, particularly broken rock, which falls into a drill hole and interferes with drilling.
  8. (mining) A collapse or cave-in.
  9. (figuratively, also slang) The vagina.
  10. (slang, politics, often "Cave") A group that breaks from a larger political party or faction on a particular issue.
  11. (obsolete) Any hollow place, or part; a cavity.
    • 1626, Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum, Or, A Naturall Historie: In Ten Centuries
      the cave of the ear
  12. (programming) A code cave.
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Verb

cave (caves, present participle caving; past and past participle caved)

  1. To surrender.
    He caved under pressure.
  2. To collapse.
    First the braces buckled, then the roof began to cave, then we ran.
  3. To hollow out or undermine.
    The levee has been severely caved by the river current.
  4. To engage in the recreational exploration of caves.
    Synonyms: spelunk
    I have caved from Yugoslavia to Kentucky.
    Let's go caving this weekend.
  5. (mining) In room-and-pillar mining, to extract a deposit of rock by breaking down a pillar which had been holding it in place.
    The deposit is caved by knocking out the posts.
  6. (mining, obsolete) To work over tailings to dress small pieces of marketable ore.
  7. (obsolete) To dwell in a cave.
Pronunciation Interjection
  1. (British, public school slang) look out!; beware!
Synonyms Translations
Cave
Proper noun
  1. The 18th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.
  2. Surname



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