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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

dive.

To swim under water.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/daɪv/
  1. To swim under water.

    intransitive
    He dove in the water to save her.
  2. To jump into water head-first.

    intransitive
  3. To jump headfirst toward the ground or into another substance.

    intransitive
    to dive into home plate
  4. To descend sharply or steeply.

    intransitive
  5. To lose altitude quickly by pointing downwards, as with a bird or aircraft.

    intransitive
  6. To undertake with enthusiasm.

    especially · intransitive
    She dove right in and started making improvements.
  7. To deliberately fall down after a challenge, imitating being fouled, in the hope of getting one's opponent penalised.

  8. To leap while fielding to take a brilliant catch which usually results in a wicket and appreciation.

  9. To cause to descend, dunk; to plunge something into water.

    transitive
  10. To explore by diving; to plunge into.

    transitive
  11. To plunge or to go deeply into any subject, question, business, etc.; to penetrate; to explore.

    figuratively · intransitive
Where this word comes from

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.

noun/daɪv/
  1. A jump or plunge into water.

    the dive of a hawk after prey
  2. A headfirst jump toward the ground or into another substance.

  3. A downward swooping motion.

  4. A swim under water.

  5. A decline.

  6. A seedy bar, nightclub, etc.

    slang
  7. Aerial descent with the nose pointed down.

  8. A deliberate fall after a challenge.

Where this word comes from

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.

noun/ˈdiːveɪ/
  1. plural of diva

    form-of · plural
Where this word comes from

From Italian dive; see diva.

noun
  1. Obsolete form of daeva.

    alt-of · obsolete
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.