spelunker

noun spe·lunk·er \ spi-ˈləŋ-kər , ˈspē-ˌləŋ- \

|Updated on: 3 Aug 2018

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of spelunker

: one who makes a hobby of exploring and studying caves

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Recent Examples of spelunker from the Web

Vernon Unsworth, a British insurance consultant and hobbyist spelunker, has made a obsession of the Tham Luang cave system.

— shibani mahtani, Washington Post, "‘Time is running out’: Inside the treacherous rescue of boys trapped in a Thai cave," 13 July 2018
They were joined by scores of spelunkers who flocked to Mae Sai within days of the news that the soccer team was trapped by floods.

— phred dvorak, WSJ, "All 12 Boys and Their Soccer Coach Rescued From Thai Cave," 10 July 2018
The appeal of discovering new, hidden worlds is a big part of why spelunkers are drawn to cave exploring.

— jake maxwell watts, WSJ, "What Lies Beneath? Vague Mapping Complicates Thai Cave Rescue," 8 July 2018
Here are a few tales of cave rescues that worked: A cry for help, in a box In 1983, eight amateur spelunkers were trapped in a Kentucky cave after a rainstorm caused a stream to rise, sealing their only escape route.

— mike ives, New York Times, "5 Cave Rescues That Worked: Thailand Can Find Hope in Past Success," 3 July 2018
But fear not, urban spelunkers and cavern connoisseurs: Bagley said the city hopes to offer more tours, perhaps in October, to commemorate Massachusetts Archaeology Month.

— michael levenson, BostonGlobe.com, "Photos of the abandoned subway tunnel beneath City Hall," 21 May 2018
Teams can either tackle the courses physically, or design a simulated spelunker.

— matt simon, WIRED, "Darpa's Next Challenge? A Grueling Underground Journey," 15 May 2018
The spelunkers of The Descent are stuck in utter darkness below the Appalachian mountains even without cannibal troglodytes; to be left alone out in the Atlantic Ocean, as in Open Water, is awful enough without sharks.

— asher elbein, The Atlantic, "The Terror Is More Than a Chilling Monster Show," 1 May 2018
Sadly for would-be spelunkers, the hole in the road will be given a permanent seal.

— craig hlavaty, Houston Chronicle, "More details released about the prehistoric cave uncovered in the middle of a Texas neighborhood," 28 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spelunker.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Spelunker sounds like the noise a pebble makes when you drop it down a deep hole and into dark, hidden water far below. But there's nothing dark or obscure about the etymology of the term. We borrowed "spelunker" from Latin spelunca, which in turn derives from Greek spelynx. When you get to the bottom of things, you find that both the Latin and Greek words mean "cave." Although "spelunker" might sound neat, be careful: some cave-exploring enthusiasts prefer the term "caver."

Origin and Etymology of spelunker

Latin spēlunca "cave" (borrowed from Greek spēlynk-, stem of spêlynx "cave") + ²-er — more at speleology

Note: Word popularized, if not coined, by the author and outdoorsman Clair Willard Perry ("Clay Perry," 1887-1961), perhaps earliest in Underground New England (Brattleboro, VT: Stephen Daye Press, 1939), p. 219: "There is an informal caveman's club in New England, a group of men and boys who for several years have been making a more or less systematic study of the caves and old mines of the country, extending their research throughout eastern New York state as well. They call themselves 'spelunkers,' taking the name from the snappy Latin title for a cave, 'spelunka,' and from the high-sounding British caveman's club which is 'British Speleological Association'."

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1942

in the meaning defined above

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