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
1
: to fall in or down especially from being undermined
—usually used with in
2
: to cease to resist : submit
—usually used with in
: to cause to fall or collapse
—usually used with in
Synonyms
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 WebUSA TODAY, 20 May 2024
Over time, as the caves cooled, the diversity of microbes inside the caves increased.
—Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 May 2024
Paddle Tour Menorca provides tours of caves that may include snorkeling to spot colorful fish during the daytime, or at sunset, paddling out to enjoy a cold beer.
—Yasmin Fahr, New York Times, 16 May 2024
Read Next Eyeless creature — discovered in underwater cave — is a new species in China.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 16 May 2024
In addition to tours, owner Alfred Eames and his team host seasonal brunches and dinners, but most people visit to see the jaw-dropping wine cellar — a vaulted cave inspired by a trip to Spain that Eames designed and built with his son.
—Jamie Siebrase, The Denver Post, 13 May 2024
An urban search and rescue team also was summoned to the site to determine whether the hillside where the cave was dug needed shoring up.
—Rachel Uranga, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2024
The 2018 rescue of a soccer team from a cave in Thailand was the subject of two movies, a Netflix series and documentary and a National Geographic documentary.
—Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
The pupfish are now only found in the upper 80 feet of the cave on an 11-foot by 16-foot shallow shelf in the cavern’s entrance.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 9 May 2024
Helen Iatrou, Travel + Leisure, 16 May 2024
But workers have also died when trenches caved in, when forklifts toppled, and when they were electrocuted, struck by falling construction materials or crushed by heavy machinery.
—Ames Alexander, Charlotte Observer, 14 May 2024
McConnell and other Republicans also accused Biden of caving into the pressure from pro-Palestinian protesters from around the country who have called for a cease-fire and colleges and universities to divest from Israel because of civilian deaths.
—Ivan Pereira, ABC News, 11 May 2024
Indeed, a simple substitution cipher like this almost always caves to the kind of frequency analysis Holmes used.
—PCMAG, 22 Aug. 2023
And right now, Spotify is the closest it’s ever been to getting Apple to finally cave.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 9 May 2024
The structure is severely damaged, with the roof caved in over several stores, back walls gone and glass and debris scattered throughout the parking lot.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 8 May 2024
The club eventually caved and replaced Curbishley with a more progressive coach.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Ultimately, Google caved and cut a deal with several Australian publishers — and Australia’s success led other countries like the US, UK, Canada, and New Zealand to pursue similar legislation.
—Victoria Song, The Verge, 12 Apr. 2024
Noun
Read the full Gemini Daily Horoscope Cancer (June 22 - July 22)
Want to hide out in your intellectual cave?
—USA TODAY, 20 May 2024
Over time, as the caves cooled, the diversity of microbes inside the caves increased.
—Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 May 2024
Paddle Tour Menorca provides tours of caves that may include snorkeling to spot colorful fish during the daytime, or at sunset, paddling out to enjoy a cold beer.
—Yasmin Fahr, New York Times, 16 May 2024
Read Next Eyeless creature — discovered in underwater cave — is a new species in China.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 16 May 2024
In addition to tours, owner Alfred Eames and his team host seasonal brunches and dinners, but most people visit to see the jaw-dropping wine cellar — a vaulted cave inspired by a trip to Spain that Eames designed and built with his son.
—Jamie Siebrase, The Denver Post, 13 May 2024
An urban search and rescue team also was summoned to the site to determine whether the hillside where the cave was dug needed shoring up.
—Rachel Uranga, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2024
The 2018 rescue of a soccer team from a cave in Thailand was the subject of two movies, a Netflix series and documentary and a National Geographic documentary.
—Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
The pupfish are now only found in the upper 80 feet of the cave on an 11-foot by 16-foot shallow shelf in the cavern’s entrance.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 9 May 2024
Verb
Most visitors to Zakynthos are drawn to its diverse beaches — some sandy, others lined in fine pebbles or rocky, and caves ideal for snorkeling.
—Helen Iatrou, Travel + Leisure, 16 May 2024
But workers have also died when trenches caved in, when forklifts toppled, and when they were electrocuted, struck by falling construction materials or crushed by heavy machinery.
—Ames Alexander, Charlotte Observer, 14 May 2024
McConnell and other Republicans also accused Biden of caving into the pressure from pro-Palestinian protesters from around the country who have called for a cease-fire and colleges and universities to divest from Israel because of civilian deaths.
—Ivan Pereira, ABC News, 11 May 2024
Indeed, a simple substitution cipher like this almost always caves to the kind of frequency analysis Holmes used.
—PCMAG, 22 Aug. 2023
And right now, Spotify is the closest it’s ever been to getting Apple to finally cave.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 9 May 2024
The structure is severely damaged, with the roof caved in over several stores, back walls gone and glass and debris scattered throughout the parking lot.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 8 May 2024
The club eventually caved and replaced Curbishley with a more progressive coach.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Ultimately, Google caved and cut a deal with several Australian publishers — and Australia’s success led other countries like the US, UK, Canada, and New Zealand to pursue similar legislation.
—Victoria Song, The Verge, 12 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cave.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Cave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cave. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
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