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 Web
Claire Franken, TVLine, 24 Oct. 2024
The residents salvaged some possessions—beds, a refrigerator, a washing machine—and installed them in a cave, which became their new home.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2024
Dana Thomas, Architectural Digest, 20 Nov. 2024
Rather than merely caving in, a better course of AI discourse would be to press AI on the merits of all options.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cave 
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Noun
The excursion takes a horrific turn when one guest gets trapped in a cave, with her arm wedged between rocks amid a rising tide.
—Claire Franken, TVLine, 24 Oct. 2024
The residents salvaged some possessions—beds, a refrigerator, a washing machine—and installed them in a cave, which became their new home.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2024
Verb
But the roof had caved in and the interior had been gutted.
—Dana Thomas, Architectural Digest, 20 Nov. 2024
Rather than merely caving in, a better course of AI discourse would be to press AI on the merits of all options.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cave
Articles Related to cave
Dictionary Entries Near cave
Cite this Entry
“Cave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cave. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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