cave

UK: /ˈkeɪv/ US: /keɪv/ ,(kāv)

Inflections of 'cave' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

caves

v 3rd person singular

caving

v pres p

caved

v past

caved

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

cave /keɪv/   n., v., caved, cav•ing. 
n. [countable]

1. Geology, Geography a hollow place in the earth, esp. one into a hill, mountain, etc., or underground.

v. 

2. cave in,
   • to (cause to) fall in;
     to (cause to) collapse: [no object]
     The roof is caving in.
     [~ + in + object]
     Someone caved in his skull with a rock.
     [ ~ + obj + in]:
     to cave it in with a rock.
   • Informal Terms [no object] to yield;
     surrender;
     give in:
     At last I caved in and bought a new car.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

cave  (kāv), n., v., caved, cav•ing. 
n. 

1. Geology, Geography a hollow in the earth, esp. one opening more or less horizontally into a hill, mountain, etc.
2. a storage cellar, esp. for wine.
3. Government [Eng. Hist.] a secession, or a group of seceders, from a political party on some special question.

v.t. 

4. to hollow out.
5. Mining
   • to cause (overlying material) to fall into a stope, sublevel, or the like.
   • to cause (supports, as stulls or sets) to collapse beneath overlying material.
   • to fill (a stope or the like) with caved-in material:
     sub-level caving.

v.i. 

6. to cave in.
7. cave in:
   • to fall in;
     collapse.
   • to cause to fall in or collapse.
   • Informal Terms to yield;
     submit;
     surrender:
     The opposition caved in before our superior arguments.

• Late Latin cava (feminine singular), Latin cava, neuter plural of cavum hole, noun, nominal use of neuter of cavus hollow
• Old French
• Middle English 1175–1225

cave′like′, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

cave / keɪv/ noun

1. an underground hollow with access from the ground surface or from the sea, often found in limestone areas and on rocky coastlines
2. a secession or a group seceding from a political party on some issue

verb

1. (transitive) to hollow out

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French, from Latin cava, plural of cavum cavity, from cavus hollow

cave / ˈkeɪvɪ/ noun

1. guard or lookout (esp in the phrase keep cave)

sentence_substitute

1. watch out!

Etymology: from Latin cavē! beware!