What does "cave" mean?
A large, naturally-occurring cavity formed underground or in the face of a cliff or a hillside.
Cave
/keɪv/ intj, name, noun, verb, slang
intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A large, naturally-occurring cavity formed underground or in the face of a cliff or a hillside.
- Grammar: cave is listed as intj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: abri, air-raid shelter, altamira, antre.
- Useful contrasts: open air, outdoors, resist.
- Usage evidence: "What's going on in the cave? I'm curious." "I have no idea."
How to use "cave"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cave" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cave" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cave" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cave" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cave" is acting as intj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abri" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cave", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A large, naturally-occurring cavity formed underground or in the face of a cliff or a hillside.
"We found a cave on the mountainside where we could take shelter."
- 2 Acronym of citizens against virtually everything; people who oppose the construction of any type of structure. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
"The Glenbrook Community Center is in disrepair and has been closed for a number of years, which means it is the exact kind of dilapidated and blighted building CAVE People will do everything to protect."
- 3 a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea wordnet
- 4 A hole, depression, or gap in earth or rock, whether natural or man-made.
"Every boy at one time or another has dug a cave; I suppose because ages and ages ago his ancestors had to live in caves, […]"
- 5 A storage cellar, especially for wine or cheese.
"This wine has been aged in our cave for thirty years."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 A place of retreat, such as a man cave.
"My room was a cozy cave where I could escape from my family."
- 7 A naturally-occurring cavity in bedrock which is large enough to be entered by an adult.
"It was not strictly a cave, but a narrow fissure in the rock."
- 8 A shielded area where nuclear experiments can be carried out.
"These potential radiation fields or radioactive material levels may be the result of normal operations (ie, radiation in a target cave) […]"
- 9 Debris, particularly broken rock, which falls into a drill hole and interferes with drilling. uncountable
"[…] the casing can then be placed in the hole without encountering any cave and core drilling in rock can begin."
- 10 A collapse or cave-in.
"The "breasts" of marble which unite the opposite lateral walls have been left standing in order to prevent a possible cave of the wall on either side."
- 11 The vagina. also, figuratively, slang
"Then without a word she lay on her back in the bed, her dark blond pubic hair rising about her dark wet cave like dried brush about a hidden spring."
- 12 A group that breaks from a larger political party or faction on a particular issue. slang
"Without joining the cave, Hyde had abstained both in December 1956 and May 1957."
- 13 Any hollow place, or part; a cavity. obsolete
"the cave of the ear"
- 14 A code cave.
"Once a code cave is created, you can execute it using either thread injection or thread hijacking. […] Additionally, you'd need to make sure that the cave properly cleans the stack."
Verb
- 1 To surrender. figuratively
"He caved under pressure."
- 2 explore natural caves wordnet
- 3 To collapse.
"First the braces buckled, then the roof began to cave, then we ran."
- 4 hollow out as if making a cave or opening wordnet
- 5 To hollow out or undermine.
"The levee has been severely caved by the river current."
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- 6 To engage in the recreational exploration of caves.
"Pam has been caving for 25 years. She and her husband Tim are among the top cavers in the country. They are passionate about the world hidden beneath our feet and they were to be my instructors and guides on my first ever foray below ground that didn't involve getting on the tube."
- 7 In room-and-pillar mining, to extract a deposit of rock by breaking down a pillar which had been holding it in place.
"The deposit is caved by knocking out the posts."
- 8 To work over tailings to dress small pieces of marketable ore. obsolete
"As an indication of the miners' desperation in these years, the free miners of Wensley lowered themselves to caving for scraps of ore."
- 9 To dwell in a cave. obsolete
"although perhaps / It may be heard at court that such as we / Cave here, hunt here, are outlaws, and in time / May make some stronger head"
Intj
- 1 look out!; beware! British
"Ssh! Cave! Mum's the word! Not 'arf, or what?"
Proper Noun
- 1 The 18th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.
- 2 A surname.
- 3 A place name:; A town and comune in Lazio, Italy.
- 4 A place name:; A township in Franklin County, Illinois, United States.
- 5 A place name:; A village in Lincoln County, Missouri, United States.
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A place name:; An unincorporated community in Pendleton County, West Virginia, United States.
- 7 A place name:; A settlement in Timaru district, Canterbury, New Zealand.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
""What's going on in the cave? I'm curious." "I have no idea.""
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cave"?
Common synonyms include: abri, air-raid shelter, altamira, antre, bend, bomb shelter.
How do you use "cave" in a sentence?
"What's going on in the cave? I'm curious." "I have no idea."
How do you pronounce "cave"?
Pronounced /keɪv/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English cave, borrowed from Old French cave, from Latin cava (“cavity”), from cavus (“hollow”). Cognate with Tocharian B kor (“throat”), Albanian cup (“odd, uneven”), Ancient Greek κύαρ (kúar, “eye of needle, earhole”), Old Armenian սոր (sor, “hole”), Sanskrit शून्य (śūnya, “empty, barren, zero”). Displaced native Old English sċræf. More at cavum, cavus and cage.
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Latin cavē, second-person singular present active imperative of caveō (“to beware”). Used at Eton College, Berkshire.