Definition of spelunker
: one who makes a hobby of exploring and studying caves
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spelunker was our Word of the Day on 04/30/2010. Hear the podcast!
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Recent Examples of spelunker from the Web
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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.
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Sadly for would-be spelunkers, the hole in the road will be given a permanent seal.
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This created the network of fissures the spelunkers discovered.
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The supervisor said several dozen rescue workers in all were sent to the cave, which is popular with spelunkers.
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Sadly for would-be spelunkers the hole in the road has been closed off while construction crews work to create a permanent seal.
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Berger’s team has argued that the individuals found so far must have entered Dinaledi through the chute—but unlike today’s spelunkers, some H. naledi may not have entered the chamber alive.
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Tajon's hardly the first security spelunker to fool a biometric lock.
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Chris Petersen was a spelunker in a past life: Few coaches are better at keeping players in the cave, deaf and blind to the outside world — and the accompanying adoration and expectations.
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."
SPELUNKER Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of spelunker for English Language Learners
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: a person who explores and studies caves as a hobby
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