cave
verb/keɪv/
/keɪv/
Verb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they cave | /keɪv/ /keɪv/ |
| he / she / it caves | /keɪvz/ /keɪvz/ |
| past simple caved | /keɪvd/ /keɪvd/ |
| past participle caved | /keɪvd/ /keɪvd/ |
| -ing form caving | /ˈkeɪvɪŋ/ /ˈkeɪvɪŋ/ |
- (North American English) to finally do what somebody wants after you have been strongly opposing them; to accept defeat synonym cave in (to something)
- She finally caved and agreed to an interview.
- Their defense caved under pressure.
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French, from Latin cava, from cavus ‘hollow’ (compare with cavern). The usage cave in may be from the synonymous dialect expression calve in, influenced by obsolete cave ‘excavate, hollow out’.
Check pronunciation:
cave