predive
verb (used without object)
1.
to plunge into water, especially headfirst.
2.
to go below the surface of the water, as a submarine.
3.
to plunge, fall, or descend through the air, into the earth, etc.: The acrobats dived into nets.
4.
Aeronautics. (of an airplane) to descend rapidly.
5.
to penetrate suddenly into something, as with the hand: to dive into one's purse.
verb (used with object)
8.
to cause to plunge, submerge, or descend.
9.
to insert quickly; plunge: He dived his hand into his pocket.
00:10
Predive
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
noun
10.
an act or instance of diving.
11.
a jump or plunge into water, especially in a prescribed way from a diving board.
12.
the vertical or nearly vertical descent of an airplane at a speed surpassing the possible speed of the same plane in level flight.
13.
a submerging, as of a submarine or skindiver.
14.
a dash, plunge, or lunge, as if throwing oneself at or into something: He made a dive for the football.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English diven to dive, dip, Old English dȳfan to dip (causative of dūfan to dive, sink); cognate with Old Norse dȳfa dip, German taufen to baptize; akin to dip
before 900; Middle English diven to dive, dip, Old English dȳfan to dip (causative of dūfan to dive, sink); cognate with Old Norse dȳfa dip, German taufen to baptize; akin to dip
Related forms
post·dive, adjective
pre·dive, adjective
un·der·dive, noun
un·der·dive, verb (used without object), un·der·dived or un·der·dove, un·der·dived, un·der·div·ing.
Usage note
Both dived and dove are standard as the past tense of dive. Dived, historically the older form, is somewhat more common in edited writing, but dove occurs there so frequently that it also must be considered standard: The rescuer dove into 20 feet of icy water. Dove is an Americanism that probably developed by analogy with alternations like drive, drove and ride, rode. It is the more common form in speech in the northern United States and in Canada, and its use seems to be spreading. The past participle of dive is always dived.
Both dived and dove are standard as the past tense of dive. Dived, historically the older form, is somewhat more common in edited writing, but dove occurs there so frequently that it also must be considered standard: The rescuer dove into 20 feet of icy water. Dove is an Americanism that probably developed by analogy with alternations like drive, drove and ride, rode. It is the more common form in speech in the northern United States and in Canada, and its use seems to be spreading. The past participle of dive is always dived.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To predive
Collins
World English Dictionary
dive (daɪv) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb (usually foll by in | |
| 1. | to plunge headfirst into water |
| 2. | (of a submarine, swimmer, etc) to submerge under water |
| 3. | (also tr) to fly (an aircraft) in a steep nose-down descending path, or (of an aircraft) to fly in such a path |
| 4. | to rush, go, or reach quickly, as in a headlong plunge: he dived for the ball |
| 5. | (also tr; |
| 6. | to involve oneself (in something), as in eating food |
| 7. | slang soccer (of a footballer) to pretend to have been tripped or impeded by an opposing player in order to win a free kick or penalty |
| —n | |
| 8. | a headlong plunge into water, esp one of several formalized movements executed as a sport |
| 9. | an act or instance of diving |
| 10. | a steep nose-down descent of an aircraft |
| 11. | slang a disreputable or seedy bar or club |
| 12. | slang boxing the act of a boxer pretending to be knocked down or out: he took a dive in the fourth round |
| 13. | slang soccer the act of a player pretending to have been tripped or impeded |
| [Old English dӯfan; related to Old Norse dӯfa to dip, Frisian dīvi; see | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
dive
emerged 13c. from O.E. dufan "to dive, duck, sink" (intransitive, class II strong verb; past tense deaf, pp. dofen) and dyfan "to dip, submerge" (weak, transitive), from P.Gmc. *dubijanan. Past tense dove is a later formation, perhaps on analogy of drive/drove. Sense of "disreputable bar" is first recorded
Amer.Eng. 1871, perhaps because they were usually in basements, and going into one was both a literal and figurative "diving." Related: Diver; diving.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
dive definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Nearby Words
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