Dive

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈdaɪv/
• Rhymes: -aɪv

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.

Full definition of dive

Verb

1. To swim under water.
2. To jump into water head-first.
• WhatelyIt is not that pearls fetch a high price because men have dived for them.
3. To descend sharply or steeply.
4. (especially with in) To undertake with enthusiasm.She dove right in and started making improvements.
5. (sports) To deliberately fall down after a challenge, imitating being fouled, in the hope of getting one's opponent penalised.
6. To cause to descend, dunk; to plunge something into water.
7. (transitive) To explore by diving; to plunge into.
• DenhamThe Curtii bravely dived the gulf of fame.
• EmersonHe dives the hollow, climbs the steeps.
8. (figurative) To plunge or to go deeply into any subject, question, business, etc.; to penetrate; to explore.

Usage notes

The past tense dove is found chiefly in North American English, where it is used alongside the regular (and earlier) dived, with regional variations; in British English dived is the standard past tense, dove existing only in some dialects. As a past participle, dove is relatively rare. (Compare Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary; The American Heritage Dictionary; The Cambridge Guide to English Usage)

Related terms

• scuba diving
• duck dive

Noun

1. A jump or plunge into water.
2. A swim under water.
3. A decline.
4. (slang) A seedy bar, nightclub, etc.
5. (aviation) Aerial descend with the nose pointed down.
6. (sports) A deliberate fall after a challenge.

Related terms

• divebomb
• nosedive
• swandive/swan-dive/swan dive

From Italian; see diva.

Noun

plural

1. Plural of diva

Anagrams

• Devi, I'd've, vide, vidê, vied