Library / English Dictionary

CAVE IN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The sudden collapse of something into a hollow beneath it

Synonyms:

cave in; subsidence

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("cave in" is a kind of...):

collapse (a natural event caused by something suddenly falling down or caving in)

Derivation:

cave in (break down, literally or metaphorically)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Break down, literally or metaphorically

Example:

The roof finally gave under the weight of the ice

Synonyms:

break; cave in; collapse; fall in; founder; give; give way

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "cave in" is one way to...):

change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)

Verb group:

abandon; give up (stop maintaining or insisting on; of ideas or claims)

burst; collapse (cause to burst)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "cave in"):

go off; implode (burst inward)

buckle; crumple (fold or collapse)

flop (fall loosely)

break (curl over and fall apart in surf or foam, of waves)

sink; slide down; slump (fall or sink heavily)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

cave in (the sudden collapse of something into a hollow beneath it)

Credits