plural caves
1
: a natural chamber or series of chambers in the earth or in the side of a hill or cliff
2
: a usually underground chamber for storage
a wine cave
also
: the articles stored there
3
: a place providing privacy or seclusion from others
When a friend dragged her out of her cave to go salsa dancing for the first time, the rhythms … stepped into her soul …—
Leslie Guttman
see also man cave
Leslie Guttman
caved; caving
1
: to fall in or down especially from being undermined
—usually used with in
2
: to cease to resist : submit
—usually used with in
: to cause to fall or collapse
—usually used with in
Synonyms
Examples of cave in a Sentence
Noun
Kentucky's Mammoth Cave is actually a series of large chambers on five levels.
Verb (2)
the wall caved in when a tree fell on it
I caved in to my bibliomania and bought two more books last week
Recent Examples on the WebTeresa De Miguel, Megan Janetsky, and Rodrigo Abd, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 May 2024
The karst cave is located in Longzhou County, in southern China near the border of Vietnam.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 30 May 2024
Didi Tang, Fortune Asia, 27 May 2024
Nevertheless, Kalra caved to pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union of California and Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California.
—Fraidy Reiss, The Mercury News, 24 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for cave 
Noun
Water sculpted the porous stone into caves over the course of millions of years.
—Teresa De Miguel, Megan Janetsky, and Rodrigo Abd, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 May 2024
The karst cave is located in Longzhou County, in southern China near the border of Vietnam.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 30 May 2024
Verb
Instead of caving in, the northern European country asked for help.
—Didi Tang, Fortune Asia, 27 May 2024
Nevertheless, Kalra caved to pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union of California and Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California.
—Fraidy Reiss, The Mercury News, 24 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for cave
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cave.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Cave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cave. Accessed 6 Jun. 2024.
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