Dive Meaning
/daɪv/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo swim under water.
verbTo jump into water head-first.
Sentence Examples
The sperm whale can dive to a depth of 1,000 meters.
The giant plane screamed down in an almost vertical dive.
We watched the eagle dive quickly to catch a fish.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The swimmer prepared to ____ into the deep end of the pool.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The sperm whale can ____ to a depth of 1,000 meters.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It is not that pearls fetch a high price because men have dived for them."
— 1826, Richard Whately, Elements of Logic:
"[the Hammersmith & City at Paddington]: There it dived underground, eventually enabling its train services to run over, and be entangled with, the easterly extensions of the Metropolitan and the District."
— 2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 49:
"To dive an infant either thrice or but once in Baptism"
— [1594], Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Iohn Windet, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page):
"The Curtii bravely dived the gulf of flame."
— 1668, John Denham, The Progress of Learning:
"The green lane is the school-boy's friend, / Low leaves his quarrel apprehend, / […] / The brimming brook invites a leap, / He dives the hollow, climbs the steep."
— 1867, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “May-Day”, in May-Day and Other Pieces, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 20:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The swimmer prepared to ____ into the deep end of the pool.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The sperm whale can ____ to a depth of 1,000 meters.