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dive

Pronunciation: /daɪv/

The English word “dive” has 19 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To swim under water.
  2. To jump into water head-first.
  3. To jump headfirst toward the ground or into another substance.
  4. To descend sharply or steeply.
  5. To lose altitude quickly by pointing downwards, as with a bird or aircraft.
  6. To undertake with enthusiasm.
  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.
  10. To explore by diving; to plunge into.
  11. To plunge or to go deeply into any subject, question, business, etc.; to penetrate; to explore.

noun

  1. A jump or plunge into water.
  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.
  7. Aerial descent with the nose pointed down.
  8. A deliberate fall after a challenge.

Etymology

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.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.