plural caves
1
: a natural chamber or series of chambers in the earth or in the side of a hill or cliff
2
: a usually underground chamber for storage
a wine cave
also
: the articles stored there
3
: a place providing privacy or seclusion from others
When a friend dragged her out of her cave to go salsa dancing for the first time, the rhythms … stepped into her soul …—
Leslie Guttman
see also man cave
Leslie Guttman
caved; caving; caves
1
: to cease to resist or oppose : to give in or submit to pressure
We kept asking her to come and she finally caved.
—usually used with inHe finally caved in to the pressure to resign.
2
: to fall in or down especially from being undermined
—usually used with in
The roof caved in on them.
: to cause to fall or collapse
—usually used with in
The weight of the snow caved in the roof.
Examples of cave in a Sentence
Noun
Kentucky's Mammoth Cave is actually a series of large chambers on five levels.
Verb (2)
the wall caved in when a tree fell on it
I caved in to my bibliomania and bought two more books last week
Recent Examples on the Web
Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 17 Dec. 2025
The study authors believe a family of barn owls once lived in the cave and coughed up the bones of their prey, which eventually fossilized.
—Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 17 Dec. 2025
Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Another clip captured that day shows a stove with part of the roof caved in on top of it.
—Saleen Martin, USA Today, 12 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cave
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
For thousands of years, the cave served as a communal home for a family of owls.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 17 Dec. 2025
The study authors believe a family of barn owls once lived in the cave and coughed up the bones of their prey, which eventually fossilized.
—Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 17 Dec. 2025
Verb
Vietnamese leaders worry that anti-Chinese protests could morph into domestic opposition, especially if the Vietnamese public believes that its leaders have caved to Chinese demands.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Another clip captured that day shows a stove with part of the roof caved in on top of it.
—Saleen Martin, USA Today, 12 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cave
Cite this Entry
“Cave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cave. Accessed 20 Dec. 2025.
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