Etymology From Middle English diven, duven, from the merger of Old English dȳfan (“to dip, immerse”, transitive weak verb) (from Proto-Germanic *dūbijaną) and dūfan (“to duck, dive, sink, penetrate”, intransitive strong verb) (past participle ġedofen). Cognate with Icelandic dýfa (“to dip, dive”), Low German bedaven (“covered, covered with water”). See also deep, dip.
It is not that pearls fetch a high price because men have dived for them.1826, Richard Whately, Elements of Logic:
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To jump headfirst toward the ground or into another substance.
to dive into home plate
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To descend sharply or steeply.
[the Hammersmith & City at Paddington]: There it dived underground, eventually enabling its train services to run over, and be entangled with, the easterly extensions of the Metropolitan and the District.2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 49:
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To lose altitude quickly by pointing downwards, as with a bird or aircraft.
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Especially, With in To undertake with enthusiasm.
She dove right in and started making improvements.
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Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports To deliberately fall down after a challenge, imitating being fouled, in the hope of getting one's opponent penalised.
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Ball games, Cricket, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports To leap while fielding to take a brilliant catch which usually results in a wicket and appreciation.
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To cause to descend, dunk; to plunge something into water.
To dive an infant either thrice or but once in Baptism[1594], Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Iohn Windet, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page):
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To explore by diving; to plunge into.
The Curtii bravely dived the gulf of flame.1668, John Denham, The Progress of Learning:
The green lane is the school-boy's friend, / Low leaves his quarrel apprehend, / […] / The brimming brook invites a leap, / He dives the hollow, climbs the steep.1867, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “May-Day”, in May-Day and Other Pieces, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 20:
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Figuratively To plunge or to go deeply into any subject, question, business, etc.; to penetrate; to explore.
dive into the Concerns of all about them1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
Google says this lets AI Mode recommend more diverse sources, produce deeper answers to more complex queries, dives deeper – and you have the ability to ask follow-up questions.2025 June 13, Thomas Germain, “Is Google about to destroy the web?”, in BBC:
dive
noun
Etymology From Middle English diven, duven, from the merger of Old English dȳfan (“to dip, immerse”, transitive weak verb) (from Proto-Germanic *dūbijaną) and dūfan (“to duck, dive, sink, penetrate”, intransitive strong verb) (past participle ġedofen). Cognate with Icelandic dýfa (“to dip, dive”), Low German bedaven (“covered, covered with water”). See also deep, dip.
A headfirst jump toward the ground or into another substance.
The 24-year-old Brazilian hurdler Joao Vitor de Oliveira progressed to the Rio competition’s semi-finals by executing a Superman-style dive headfirst over the finishing line – beating South Africa’s Antonio Alkana by one hundredth of a second.2016 August 16, Kate Samuelson, “Here Are Other Athletes Who Famously Won with a Dive”, in Time: