Grotto Meaning

/ˈɡɹɒt.əʊ/
C2

Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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nounA small cave.

nounAn artificial cavern-like retreat.

The grotto was a beautiful cave.
The grotto contained a stunning fountain.
The acoustics of the grotto were so good that concerts were arranged there.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The explorers found a hidden ____ with a pool of clear water.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The explorers found a hidden ____ tucked away behind a cascading waterfall, filled with glowing crystals.

From Italian grotta, from Vulgar Latin grupta, from Classical Latin crypta. Doublet of crypt. The Philippine sense is from the holy cave in Lourdes, France.

"...But, while we are waiting for the temple, can you not show us the altar?—we want to see your grotto." Pope desired nothing better than to show his new toy, and led the way to the pretty and fanciful cave, which was but just finished." — 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Pope’s Villa”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 192:
"An earlier attempt to organize a grotto in the Indiana, PA, area in the mid-1970s failed to succeed, but from it developed the informal Chestnut Ridge Explorers Association." — 1987, National Speleological Society, NSS News, volumes 45-46, page 331:
"By the mid-1940s members of local grottos (regional clubs of cavers within the National Speleological Society) were exploring Porcupine Cave (Bloch, 1946)." — 2004, Anthony D. Barnosky, Biodiversity Response to Climate Change in the Middle Pleistocene: The Porcupine Cave Fauna from Colorado:
"The answer to the question, “Are there any caves in Arizona?” was always the laconic “None to speak of,” with emphasis on the “to speak of.” This secrecy dovetailed with the cave conservation ethic promoted by the local caving grotto." — 2008, Neil Miller, Kartchner Caverns: How Two Cavers Discovered and Saved One of the Wonders of the Natural World:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
The explorers found a hidden ____ with a pool of clear water.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The explorers found a hidden ____ tucked away behind a cascading waterfall, filled with glowing crystals.

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