Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

caving in

 - 2 dictionary results

cave

[keyv] noun, verb, caved, cav⋅ing.
–noun
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.
–verb (used with object)
4. to hollow out.
5. Mining.
a. to cause (overlying material) to fall into a stope, sublevel, or the like.
b. to cause (supports, as stulls or sets) to collapse beneath overlying material.
c. to fill (a stope or the like) with caved-in material: sub-level caving.
–verb (used without object)
6. to cave in.
7. cave in,
a. to fall in; collapse.
b. to cause to fall in or collapse.
c. Informal. to yield; submit; surrender: The opposition caved in before our superior arguments.

Origin:
1175–1225; ME < OF < LL cava (fem. sing.), L cava, neut. pl. of cavum hole, n. use of neut. of cavus hollow


cavelike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To caving in
Word Origin & History

cave  (n.)
c.1220, from O.Fr. cave "a cave," from L. cavea "hollow" (place), neut. plural of adj. cavus "hollow," from PIE base *keu- "a swelling, arch, cavity." Replaced O.E. eorðscrafu. First record of cave man is 1865.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see caving in on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: