Definition

1. Noun:

   • A natural underground chamber or series of chambers, typically formed by the erosion of rock and accessible from the Earth's surface: A cave is a hollow space in the ground, often large enough for a person to enter, formed naturally by geological processes.

2. Verb:

   • To explore natural caves: The act of going into and investigating caves, often as a hobby or sport (spelunking).
   • To hollow out or undermine, causing to collapse or give way: To create a hollow space or to cause a structure to fall inward, often by erosion or excavation.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The explorers discovered a large cave filled with ancient paintings.
  • Bats often sleep in dark caves during the day.

• Verb:

  • They love to cave in the mountains every summer. (To explore caves)
  • The rushing water began to cave the soft riverbank. (To hollow out)

Advanced Usage

• "to cave in": To collapse inward; to yield or surrender under pressure.
  • The old mine's roof could cave in at any moment.
  • After hours of negotiation, they finally caved in to our demands.

Variants and Related Words

• Cavern (n): A large or deep cave.
• Caving (n): The recreational activity of exploring caves.
• Cavity (n): An empty space within a solid object, often smaller than a cave.
• Caver (n): A person who explores caves as a hobby.

Synonyms

• Grotto: A small, picturesque cave.
• Cavern: A large cave.
• Hollow: A hole or empty space in something.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Cave in: (As detailed in Advanced Usage) To collapse or surrender.
• Cave out: (Less common) To excavate or hollow out.
  • The miners caved out a new tunnel.

Related Idioms

• "to cave someone's head in": (Informal, aggressive) To hit someone very hard on the head.
  • He threatened to cave my head in with that rock.
• "living in a cave": Being uninformed or out of touch with modern life.
  • You haven't heard about the new phone? Have you been living in a 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. explore natural caves
2. hollow out as if making a cave or opening
   • The river was caving the banks