# cave

Pronunciation: say "KAYV" /keɪv/

## Noun

1. A large hollow space underground or in the side of a cliff or hill, usually formed naturally but sometimes dug out by people.
   - Simple: A big hole in the side of a hill or cliff, or under the ground.
   - _Ancient paintings cover the walls of the cave in southern France._
   - _Sea caves form where waves wear away weak spots in coastal rock._
3. A personal space someone retreats to for privacy or relaxation, such as a man cave.
   - Simple: A quiet, private place where someone goes to relax and be alone.
   - _He disappears into his cave in the basement whenever the playoffs start._
   - _Her studio doubles as a cave where she can escape the household noise._
5. A cellar used for storage, especially for aging wine or cheese.
   - Simple: A cool underground room used to store wine or cheese.
   - _The vineyard ages its reds in a cave carved into the hillside._
   - _Wheels of cheese ripen for months in caves beneath the creamery._

## Verb

2. To give in or surrender, especially after resisting pressure or demands.
   - Simple: To stop fighting or arguing and let the other side win.
   - _The senator caved to pressure from donors and withdrew the bill._
   - _Management refused to cave despite weeks of strikes._
4. To collapse; to fall inward or give way.
   - Simple: To fall in or break down suddenly, like a roof or a wall.
   - _The trench caved before the workers could install bracing._
   - _Without support beams, tunnel walls can cave under the weight above._
6. To take part in the recreational exploration of caves.
   - Simple: To explore caves for fun, as a hobby or sport.
   - _They cave together every spring, mapping new passages as they go._
   - _He has been caving since college and now leads beginner trips._
8. In room-and-pillar mining, to remove a rock deposit by breaking down the pillar that had been supporting it.
   - Simple: To take out rock by knocking down a support pillar that was holding it up.
   - _Once the room was mined out, the crew caved the remaining pillars to bring down the ore they had been holding up._
   - _Engineers decided to cave the pillar only after every worker had left the section._

## Noun

7. A hollow place or part of any kind; a cavity. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Any empty space or hollow part inside something.

## Verb

9. To work over mine tailings in order to dress out small pieces of marketable ore. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To sort through mining waste to pick out small bits of useful ore.
10. To live in a cave as one's dwelling place. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make your home in a cave.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A collapse, such as the falling in of a mine roof or tunnel.
- (verb) To hollow out, or to weaken something by wearing away the support beneath it.
- (noun) A figurative slang term for the vagina, picturing it as a hollow opening.
- (noun) A faction that breaks away from a larger political party or group over a particular issue.
- (noun) An unused region of a program's memory into which extra code can be inserted, often to change how the software behaves.
- (noun) A shielded enclosure in which nuclear experiments can be carried out safely.
- (noun) Loose debris, especially broken rock, that falls into a drill hole and interferes with the drilling.
- (interjection) Called out as a warning to look out or beware, especially that a teacher or other authority figure is approaching.

## Origin

Latin cavus ("hollow") gave cava ("cavity"), which passed through Old French cave into Middle English as cave. The word took the place of the native Old English sċræf.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/cave (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).