[keyv] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, caved, cav·ing. | 1. | 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. | English History. a secession, or a group of seceders, from a political party on some special question. |
| 4. | to hollow out. |
| 5. | Mining.
|
| 6. | to cave in. |
| 7. | cave in,
|
] —Related forms
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
| cave
(kāv) Pronunciation Key
n.
v. caved, cav·ing, caves v. tr.
v. intr.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin cava, from neuter pl. of cavus, hollow; see keuə- in Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
cave (n.)
cave (v.)
| cave | |
noun | |
| 1. | a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea |
verb | |
| 1. | hollow out as if making a cave or opening; "The river was caving the banks" |
| 2. | explore natural caves |
| cave
(kāv) Pronunciation Key
A naturally occurring underground hollow or passage, especially one with an opening to the surface of the Earth. Caves can form through a variety of processes, including the dissolution of limestone by flowing water, the differential cooling of volcanic magma (which occurs when the outside surface of the lava cools, but the inside continues to flow downwards, forming a hollow tube), or the action of wind and waves along a rocky coast.
|
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cave Springs, AR (city, FIPS 12340) Location: 36.26269 N, 94.22872 W
Population (1990): 465 (184 housing units)
Area: 2.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 72718
Cave Spring, VA (CDP, FIPS 13720) Location: 37.22383 N, 80.00760 W
Population (1990): 24053 (10492 housing units)
Area: 30.7 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 24018
Cave Spring, GA (city, FIPS 14108) Location: 34.10950 N, 85.33385 W
Population (1990): 950 (414 housing units)
Area: 6.7 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 30124
Cave Junction, OR (city, FIPS 11850) Location: 42.16734 N, 123.64467 W
Population (1990): 1126 (568 housing units)
Area: 3.8 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 97523
Cave Creek, AZ (town, FIPS 11300) Location: 33.82617 N, 111.96521 W
Population (1990): 2925 (1363 housing units)
Area: 64.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 85331
Cave City, KY (city, FIPS 13492) Location: 37.13852 N, 85.96429 W
Population (1990): 1953 (870 housing units)
Area: 11.1 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 42127
Cave City, AR (city, FIPS 12280) Location: 35.94668 N, 91.54783 W
Population (1990): 1503 (697 housing units)
Area: 6.4 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 72521
Cave In Rock, IL Zip code(s): 62919
Marvel Cave Park, MO Zip code(s): 65616
Mammoth Cave Nat, KY Zip code(s): 42259
Cave-In-Rock, IL (village, FIPS 11826) Location: 37.47016 N, 88.16554 W
Population (1990): 381 (207 housing units)
Area: 0.9 sq km (land), 0.1 sq km (water)
Cave, MO (town, FIPS 12079) Location: 39.02376 N, 91.04520 W
Population (1990): 10 (5 housing units)
Area: 2.6 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Rock Cave, WV Zip code(s): 26234
Howes Cave, NY Zip code(s): 12092
Horse Cave, KY (city, FIPS 38008) Location: 37.17243 N, 85.91133 W
Population (1990): 2284 (1021 housing units)
Area: 6.9 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 42749
Weyers Cave, VA Zip code(s): 24486
Bone Cave, TN Zip code(s): 38581
Bee Cave, TX (village, FIPS 7156) Location: 30.30797 N, 97.95525 W
Population (1990): 241 (95 housing units)
Area: 4.8 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Cave
Cave\ (k[=a]v), n. [F. cave, L. cavus hollow, whence cavea cavity. Cf. Cage.]1. A hollow place in the earth, either natural or artificial; a subterraneous cavity; a cavern; a den. 2. Any hollow place, or part; a cavity. [Obs.] "The cave of the ear." --Bacon. Cave bear (Zo["o]l.), a very large fossil bear (Ursus spel[ae]us) similar to the grizzly bear, but large; common in European caves. Cave dweller, a savage of prehistoric times whose dwelling place was a cave. --Tylor. Cave hyena (Zo["o]l.), a fossil hyena found abundanty in British caves, now usually regarded as a large variety of the living African spotted hyena. Cave lion (Zo["o]l.), a fossil lion found in the caves of Europe, believed to be a large variety of the African lion. Bone cave. See under Bone.
Cave
Cave\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Caved; p. pr. & vb. n. Caving.] [Cf. F. caver. See Cave, n.] To make hollow; to scoop out. [Obs.] The mouldred earth cav'd the banke. --Spenser.
Cave
Cave\, v. i. 1. To dwell in a cave. [Obs.] --Shak. 2. [See To cave in, below.] To fall in or down; as, the sand bank caved. Hence (Slang), to retreat from a position; to give way; to yield in a disputed matter. To cave in. [Flem. inkalven.] (a) To fall in and leave a hollow, as earth on the side of a well or pit. (b) To submit; to yield. [Slang] --H. Kingsley.
Cave
Cave\, n. (Eng. Politics) A coalition or group of seceders from a political party, as from the Liberal party in England in 1866. See Adullam, Cave of, in the Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction.
Cave
There are numerous natural caves among the limestone rocks of Syria, many of which have been artificially enlarged for various purposes. The first notice of a cave occurs in the history of Lot (Gen. 19:30). The next we read of is the cave of Machpelah (q.v.), which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth (Gen. 25:9, 10). It was the burying-place of Sarah and of Abraham himself, also of Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob (Gen. 49:31; 50:13). The cave of Makkedah, into which the five Amorite kings retired after their defeat by Joshua (10:16, 27). The cave of Adullam (q.v.), an immense natural cavern, where David hid himself from Saul (1 Sam. 22:1, 2). The cave of Engedi (q.v.), now called 'Ain Jidy, i.e., the "Fountain of the Kid", where David cut off the skirt of Saul's robe (24:4). Here he also found a shelter for himself and his followers to the number of 600 (23:29; 24:1). "On all sides the country is full of caverns which might serve as lurking-places for David and his men, as they do for outlaws at the present day." The cave in which Obadiah hid the prophets (1 Kings 18:4) was probably in the north, but it cannot be identified. The cave of Elijah (1 Kings 19:9), and the "cleft" of Moses on Horeb (Ex. 33:22), cannot be determined. In the time of Gideon the Israelites took refuge from the Midianites in dens and caves, such as abounded in the mountain regions of Manasseh (Judg. 6:2). Caves were frequently used as dwelling-places (Num. 24:21; Cant. 2:14; Jer. 49:16; Obad. 1:3). "The excavations at Deir Dubban, on the south side of the wady leading to Santa Hanneh, are probably the dwellings of the Horites," the ancient inhabitants of Idumea Proper. The pits or cavities in rocks were also sometimes used as prisons (Isa. 24:22; 51:14; Zech. 9:11). Those which had niches in their sides were occupied as burying-places (Ezek. 32:23; John 11:38).
Copyright © 2008, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.