dive Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a cheap disreputable nightclub or dance hall
    honkytonk.
  2. noun a headlong plunge into water
    diving.
  3. noun a steep nose-down descent by an aircraft
    nose dive; nosedive.
  4. noun a distinguished female operatic singer; a female operatic star
    diva; prima donna.
  5. verb drop steeply
    plunk; plunge.
    • the stock market plunged
  6. verb plunge into water
    • I was afraid to dive from the board into the pool
  7. verb swim under water
    • the children enjoyed diving and looking for shells

WordNet

Dive intransitive verb
Etymology
OE. diven, duven, AS. dfan to sink, v. t., fr. dfan, v. i.; akin to Icel. dfa, G. taufen, E. dip, deep, and perh. to dove, n. Cf. Dip.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Dived colloq Dove adjective relic of the AS strong forms deáfeminine, dofen; present participle & verbal noun Diving
Definitions
  1. To plunge into water head foremost; to thrust the body under, or deeply into, water or other fluid.
    It is not that pearls fetch a high price because men have dived for them. Whately.
    ✍ The colloquial form dove is common in the United States as an imperfect tense form.
    All [the walruses] dove down with a tremendous splash. Dr. Hayes.
    When closely pressed it [the loon] dove . . . and left the young bird sitting in the water. J. Burroughs.
  2. Fig.: To plunge or to go deeply into any subject, question, business, etc.; to penetrate; to explore. South.
Dive transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To plunge (a person or thing) into water; to dip; to duck. Obs. Hooker.
  2. To explore by diving; to plunge into. R.
    The Curtii bravely dived the gulf of fame. Denham.
    He dives the hollow, climbs the steeps. Emerson.
Dive noun
Definitions
  1. A plunge headforemost into water, the act of one who dives, literally or figuratively.
  2. A place of low resort. Slang
    The music halls and dives in the lower part of the city. J. Hawthorne.

Webster 1913