cave

Meaning

Noun

1. A large, naturally-occurring cavity formed underground or in the face of a cliff or a hillside.
2. A hole, depression, or gap in earth or rock, whether natural or man-made.
3. A storage cellar, especially for wine or cheese.
4. A place of retreat, such as a man cave.
5. A naturally-occurring cavity in bedrock which is large enough to be entered by an adult.
6. A shielded area where nuclear experiments can be carried out.
7. (uncountable) Debris, particularly broken rock, which falls into a drill hole and interferes with drilling.
8. A collapse or cave-in.
9. (also, figuratively, slang) The vagina.
10. (slang) A group that breaks from a larger political party or faction on a particular issue.
11. (obsolete) Any hollow place, or part; a cavity.
12. A code cave.

Verb

1. (figuratively) To surrender.
2. To collapse.
3. To hollow out or undermine.
4. To engage in the recreational exploration of caves.
5. In room-and-pillar mining, to extract a deposit of rock by breaking down a pillar which had been holding it in place.
6. (obsolete) To work over tailings to dress small pieces of marketable ore.
7. (obsolete) To dwell in a cave.

Intj

look out!; beware!

Synonyms

cavern

hole

🕳️

grotto

den

hollow

cavity

tunnel

pit

burrow

lair

vault

valley

spelunk

niche

cove

aperture

cut

hollow out

undermine

dig

opening

crevice

orifice

dungeon

dint

dimple

dig up

corner

dig out

dredge

dig into

concave

mine

leak

dent

cliff

barrelhouse

indentation

delve

chasm

hiding-place

cubbyhole

chamber

hot cell

bow

🙇

interior

grot

gouge

crotch

gorge

Translations

grotte

Höhle

cueva

caverne

grotta

grot

caverna

caverna

hol

🕳️

cova

σπηλιά

gruta

caverna

caverna

Pronounced as (IPA)

/keɪv/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: cave

Cognate with Tokharian B: kor

Cognate with Albanian: cup

Cognate with Ancient Greek: κύαρ

Cognate with Classical Armenian: սոր

Cognate with Sanskrit: शून्य

In summary

From Middle English cave, borrowed from Old French cave, from Latin cava (“cavity”), from cavus (“hollow”). Cognate with Tocharian B kor (“throat”), Albanian cup (“odd, uneven”), Ancient Greek κύαρ (kúar, “eye of needle, earhole”), Old Armenian սոր (sor, “hole”), Sanskrit शून्य (śūnya, “empty, barren, zero”). Displaced native Old English sċræf. More at cavum, cavus and cage.