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
Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 13 Nov. 2025
Visitors like to explore the island’s caves and grottos, as well as a fortress tower and lighthouse at Cape Punta de Anciola.
—Kristine Hansen, Travel + Leisure, 13 Nov. 2025
Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 12 Nov. 2025
Trump did get the jitters, but responded, as The Atlantic’s Jonathan Chait noted, not by caving on health care but by ranting about the filibuster, ultimately picking a different way of doubling down.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cave
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Noun
By the very nature of their formation, these caves would have had similar watery conditions.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 13 Nov. 2025
Visitors like to explore the island’s caves and grottos, as well as a fortress tower and lighthouse at Cape Punta de Anciola.
—Kristine Hansen, Travel + Leisure, 13 Nov. 2025
Verb
Critics have framed the decision as Democrats caving to pressure on their primary demand, even after winning several key races last Tuesday.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 12 Nov. 2025
Trump did get the jitters, but responded, as The Atlantic’s Jonathan Chait noted, not by caving on health care but by ranting about the filibuster, ultimately picking a different way of doubling down.
—Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 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 14 Nov. 2025.
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