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
1
: to fall in or down especially from being undermined
—usually used with in
2
: to cease to resist : submit
—usually used with in
: to cause to fall or collapse
—usually used with in
Synonyms
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 WebSamantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
The pupfish are now only found in the upper 80 feet of the cave on an 11-foot by 16-foot shallow shelf in the cavern’s entrance.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 9 May 2024
In 2018, archaeologists unearthed the 75,000-year-old remains of a female Neanderthal from a cave in northern Iraq.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 May 2024
The town of Honiton was notable for its lace; Torquay for its caves; Tiverton for Old Snow, a kindly male witch who had died a few years earlier.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 4 May 2024
Larry had four fluffy chicks several weeks ago in a nest at a hidden oceanfront cave on the side of the island, away from the famed former prison.
—Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 3 May 2024
Reconstructive Surgery The team excavated the skull in 2018, from a cave in Iraqi Kurdistan.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 3 May 2024
The team found the Neanderthal named Shanidar Z inside a cave in Iraqi Kurdistan, which is a mountainous region in northern Iraq.
—Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY, 2 May 2024
The 100-acre park started as the site of a natural limestone cave.
—Natalie Wallington, Kansas City Star, 2 May 2024
Emma Roth, The Verge, 9 May 2024
The structure is severely damaged, with the roof caved in over several stores, back walls gone and glass and debris scattered throughout the parking lot.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 8 May 2024
The club eventually caved and replaced Curbishley with a more progressive coach.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Ultimately, Google caved and cut a deal with several Australian publishers — and Australia’s success led other countries like the US, UK, Canada, and New Zealand to pursue similar legislation.
—Victoria Song, The Verge, 12 Apr. 2024
Haniyeh said Hamas would not cave to the pressure leveled by the strike on his family.
—Tia Goldenberg, arkansasonline.com, 11 Apr. 2024
The tire hit the Chevrolet Malibu on the driver's side windshield and roof, causing the roof to cave in and hit the driver in the head.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 3 Apr. 2024
Archaeologists are increasingly applying ancient DNA techniques to tease out information from bones, teeth, artifacts and cave dirt.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
Patek has made some interesting moves over the past five years or so, asserting its history and heritage rather than caving in to the heated demand for trending watches.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024
Noun
The 2018 rescue of a soccer team from a cave in Thailand was the subject of two movies, a Netflix series and documentary and a National Geographic documentary.
—Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
The pupfish are now only found in the upper 80 feet of the cave on an 11-foot by 16-foot shallow shelf in the cavern’s entrance.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 9 May 2024
In 2018, archaeologists unearthed the 75,000-year-old remains of a female Neanderthal from a cave in northern Iraq.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 May 2024
The town of Honiton was notable for its lace; Torquay for its caves; Tiverton for Old Snow, a kindly male witch who had died a few years earlier.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 4 May 2024
Larry had four fluffy chicks several weeks ago in a nest at a hidden oceanfront cave on the side of the island, away from the famed former prison.
—Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 3 May 2024
Reconstructive Surgery The team excavated the skull in 2018, from a cave in Iraqi Kurdistan.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 3 May 2024
The team found the Neanderthal named Shanidar Z inside a cave in Iraqi Kurdistan, which is a mountainous region in northern Iraq.
—Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY, 2 May 2024
The 100-acre park started as the site of a natural limestone cave.
—Natalie Wallington, Kansas City Star, 2 May 2024
Verb
And right now, Spotify is the closest it’s ever been to getting Apple to finally cave.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 9 May 2024
The structure is severely damaged, with the roof caved in over several stores, back walls gone and glass and debris scattered throughout the parking lot.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 8 May 2024
The club eventually caved and replaced Curbishley with a more progressive coach.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Ultimately, Google caved and cut a deal with several Australian publishers — and Australia’s success led other countries like the US, UK, Canada, and New Zealand to pursue similar legislation.
—Victoria Song, The Verge, 12 Apr. 2024
Haniyeh said Hamas would not cave to the pressure leveled by the strike on his family.
—Tia Goldenberg, arkansasonline.com, 11 Apr. 2024
The tire hit the Chevrolet Malibu on the driver's side windshield and roof, causing the roof to cave in and hit the driver in the head.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press, 3 Apr. 2024
Archaeologists are increasingly applying ancient DNA techniques to tease out information from bones, teeth, artifacts and cave dirt.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
Patek has made some interesting moves over the past five years or so, asserting its history and heritage rather than caving in to the heated demand for trending watches.
—Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cave.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Cave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cave. Accessed 16 May. 2024.
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