noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
General-American:/ˈkeɪvˌmæn/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:K EY1 V M AE2 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
An early human or closely related species, popularly held to reside in caves.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
The political cartoon showed the politician as a caveman, clubbing the budget depicted as a mammoth.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A person with backward, primitive behavior, opinions, or interests.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory, figuratively, informal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A person with backward, primitive behavior, opinions, or interests.
A brutish person, one who behaves in a rough, uncivilized way.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory, figuratively, informal
Examples
The football squad was made up of cavemen who were responsible for trashing many a locker room.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A person with backward, primitive behavior, opinions, or interests.
Someone, especially a man, who has regressive, old-fashioned attitudes, particularly with regard to women; someone opposed to change or modernity.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory, figuratively, informal
Examples
Old Sven is a bit of a caveman; he figures giving women the right to vote was a bad idea.
Pat is a real caveman when it comes to tech, and refuses to get a smartphone.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
someone who lives in a cave
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: cave man, cave dweller, troglodyte
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: primitive, primitive person
History
Etymology
From cave + man, based on the supposition that early humans dwelt in caves.
Across languages
Translations
59 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
njeri i shpellave
— early humans or related species
Arabic:
رَجُل كَهْف
(rajul kahf)
— early humans or related species
Armenian:
քարանձավաբնակ
(kʻaranjavabnak)
— early humans or related species
Armenian:
անձավաբնակ
(anjavabnak)
— early humans or related species
Bulgarian:
пеще́рен чове́к
(peštéren čovék)
— early humans or related species
Catalan:
cavernícola
— early humans or related species
Chinese Mandarin:
穴居人
(xuéjūrén)
— early humans or related species
Czech:
jeskynní muž
— early humans or related species
Danish:
huleboer
— early humans or related species
Danish:
hulemenneske
— early humans or related species
Dutch:
holbewoner
— early humans or related species
Faroese:
hellisbúgvi
— early humans or related species
Faroese:
holubúgvi
— early humans or related species
Finnish:
luolamies
— early humans or related species
French:
homme des cavernes
— early humans or related species
Galician:
cavernícola
— early humans or related species
German:
Höhlenmensch
— early humans or related species
Greek:
σπηλαιάνθρωπος
(spilaiánthropos)
— early humans or related species
Greek:
άνθρωπος των σπηλαίων
(ánthropos ton spilaíon)
— early humans or related species
Ancient Greek:
τρωγλοδύτης
(trōglodútēs)
— early humans or related species
Hebrew:
איש מערות
— early humans or related species
Hebrew:
אָדָם קַדְמוֹן
(adám qadmón)
— early humans or related species
Icelandic:
hellisbúi
— early humans or related species
Italian:
cavernicolo
— early humans or related species
Italian:
troglodita
— early humans or related species
Japanese:
穴居人
(kekkyojin)
— early humans or related species
Korean:
동굴 거주인
(donggul geoju'in)
— early humans or related species
Latvian:
alu cilvēks
— early humans or related species
Latvian:
troglodīts
— early humans or related species
Lithuanian:
urvinis žmogus
— early humans or related species
Macedonian:
пештерски човек
(pešterski čovek)
— early humans or related species
Norwegian Bokmål:
hulemenneske
— early humans or related species
Norwegian Nynorsk:
holemenneske
— early humans or related species
Polish:
jaskiniowiec
— early humans or related species
Polish:
jaskiniowczyni
— early humans or related species
Portuguese:
cavernícola
— early humans or related species
Portuguese:
homem das cavernas
— early humans or related species
Russian:
пеще́рный челове́к
(peščérnyj čelovék)
— early humans or related species
Russian:
троглоди́т
(troglodít)
— early humans or related species
Serbo-Croatian:
пећинар
— early humans or related species
Serbo-Croatian:
пећинарка
— early humans or related species
Serbo-Croatian:
pećinar
— early humans or related species
Serbo-Croatian:
pećinarka
— early humans or related species
Spanish:
cavernícola
— early humans or related species
Spanish:
hombre de las cavernas
— early humans or related species
Spanish:
troglodita
— early humans or related species
Spanish:
cavernario
— early humans or related species
Spanish:
hombre prehistórico
— early humans or related species
Swedish:
grottmänniska
— early humans or related species
Turkish:
mağara adamı
— early humans or related species
Ukrainian:
пече́рна люди́на
(pečérna ljudýna)
— early humans or related species
Welsh:
ogofwr
— early humans or related species
Catalan:
home de les cavernes
— a brutish or savage person
Polish:
jaskiniowiec
— a brutish or savage person
Polish:
jaskiniowczyni
— a brutish or savage person
Portuguese:
homem das cavernas
— a brutish or savage person
Spanish:
hombre de las cavernas
— a brutish or savage person
Polish:
jaskiniowiec
— a man with old fashioned or backward opinions, particularly with regard to women
Portuguese:
homem das cavernas
— a man with old fashioned or backward opinions, particularly with regard to women
