noun
Meaning 1
A large cave.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
cavern
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.
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Received-Pronunciation: kăv'ən
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Received-Pronunciation: /ˈkav.ən/
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Received-Pronunciation: /ˈkav.n̩/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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General-American: kăv'ərn
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General-American: /ˈkæv.ɚn/
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General-American: /ˈkæv.ɹən/
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rhymes with -ævə(ɹ)n
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CMU ARPABET: K AE1 V ER0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
An underground chamber.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A large, dark place or space.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- a dark cavern of a shop
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
To form a cavern or deep depression in.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
- catacombs caverning the hillsides
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: hollow, cave
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
To put into a cavern.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
a large cave or a large chamber in a cave
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: cave
Narrower terms: Carlsbad Caverns
noun
Meaning 7
any large dark enclosed space
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- his eyes were dark caverns
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: enclosure, natural enclosure
verb
Meaning 8
hollow out as if making a cavern
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: cavern out
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: hollow, hollow out, core out
History
Etymology
From Middle English caverne, borrowing from Old French caverne, from Latin caverna (“hollow, cavity, cave”), from cavus (“hollow, excavated, concave”).
Across languages
Translations
50 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: пещера (peštera) — large cave
- Catalan: caverna — large cave
- Chinese Mandarin: 大山洞 (dà shāndòng) — large cave
- Dutch: grot — large cave
- Dutch: krocht — large cave
- Dutch: hol — large cave
- Esperanto: kaverno — large cave
- Finnish: luola — large cave
- French: caverne — large cave
- French: grotte — large cave
- German: große Höhle — large cave
- German: Grotte — large cave
- Hungarian: kaverna — large cave
- Ido: kaverno — large cave
- Latgalian: ola — large cave
- Latin: caverna — large cave
- Latin: antrum — large cave
- Latin: specus — large cave
- Middle English: caverne — large cave
- Occitan: balma — large cave
- Ojibwe: waazh — large cave
- Ojibwe: waanzh — large cave
- Plautdietsch: Heel — large cave
- Polish: jaskinia — large cave
- Portuguese: caverna — large cave
- Romanian: cavernă — large cave
- Romanian: peșteră — large cave
- Romanian: grotă — large cave
- Russian: пеще́ра (peščéra) — large cave
- Russian: грот (grot) — large cave
- Slovene: jama — large cave
- Slovene: jama — large cave
- Spanish: caverna — large cave
- Swedish: grotta — large cave
- Turkish: büyük mağara — large cave
- Bulgarian: пещерна зала (pešterna zala) — underground chamber
- Catalan: caverna — underground chamber
- Chinese Mandarin: 地下深處 /地下深处 (dìxià shēnchù) — underground chamber
- Finnish: luola — underground chamber
- German: Kaverne — underground chamber
- Latgalian: ola — underground chamber
- Latgalian: zamzemis ola — underground chamber
- Latin: caverna — underground chamber
- Portuguese: caverna — underground chamber
- Russian: каве́рна (kavérna) — underground chamber
- Spanish: caverna — underground chamber
- Swedish: bergrum — underground chamber
- Swedish: grottrum — underground chamber
- Swedish: grottkammare — underground chamber
- Swedish: jordkula — underground chamber
Real reading context