Etymology 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.
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.
The preposterous altruism too![…]Resist not evil. It is an insane immolation of self—as bad intrinsically as fakirs stabbing themselves or anchorites warping their spines in caves scarcely large enough for a fair-sized dog.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVI, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
2
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, […]1918, Edward Alfred Steiner, Uncle Joe's Lincoln, page 52:
3
A storage cellar, especially for wine or cheese.
This wine has been aged in our cave for thirty years.
4
A place of retreat, such as a man cave.
My room was a cozy cave where I could escape from my family.
5
Caving, Hobbies, Lifestyle 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.
6
A shielded area where nuclear experiments can be carried out.
Nuclear physics
These potential radiation fields or radioactive material levels may be the result of normal operations (ie, radiation in a target cave) […]1986, National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Radiation Alarms and Access Control Systems, →ISBN, page 45:
7
Debris, particularly broken rock, which falls into a drill hole and interferes with drilling.
[…] the casing can then be placed in the hole without encountering any cave and core drilling in rock can begin.1951, James Deans Cumming, Diamond Drill Handbook, page 134:
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.1885, Angelo Heilprin, Town Geology: The Lesson of the Philadelphia Rocks, page 79:
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.1976, Chester Himes, My Life of Absurdity, page 59:
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Government, PoliticsSlang A group that breaks from a larger political party or faction on a particular issue.
Without joining the cave, Hyde had abstained both in December 1956 and May 1957.1964, Leon D. Epstein, British Politics in the Suez Crisis, page 125:
the cave of the ear1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
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.2016, Nick Cano, Game Hacking: Developing Autonomous Bots for Online Games:
Etymology 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.
Eventually the NUR overplayed its hands with an all-out strike. And when Peter Parker, the then-chairman of BR, who was well regarded among his staff, called their bluff by threatening to close down the entire network, they caved in.2022 December 14, Christian Wolmar, “Productivity should play no part in pay negotiations”, in RAIL, number 972, page 46:
1 more example
On Friday morning, Salvador Illa, the former health minister of Spain who now leads the Catalan branch of the PSOE, said the socialists would be happy to fight another general election rather than cave to Junts and the ERC’s demands.2023 September 29, Sam Jones, “Alberto Núñez Feijóo fails to win Spanish MPs’ backing to become PM”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
2
To collapse.
First the braces buckled, then the roof began to cave, then we ran.
3
To hollow out or undermine.
The levee has been severely caved by the river current.
4
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.2007 September 29, Kate Humble, “What lies beneath”, in The Guardian:
5
Business, Mining In room-and-pillar mining, to extract a deposit of rock by breaking down a pillar which had been holding it in place.
As an indication of the miners' desperation in these years, the free miners of Wensley lowered themselves to caving for scraps of ore.1999, Andy Wood, The Politics of Social Conflict: The Peak Country, 1520-1770, →ISBN, page 319:
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 heada. 1611, William Shakespeare, Cymbeline, act 4, scene 2:
Ssh! Cave! Mum's the word! Not 'arf, or what?1989, Ben Elton, Richard Curtis, Private Plane (Blackadder Goes Forth), season 4, episode 4, spoken by Lt. George (Hugh Laurie):