dive: Meaning and Definition of

dive

Pronunciation: (dīv), [key]
— v., n. dived dove, dived, div•ing,
—v.i.
  1. to plunge into water, esp. headfirst.
  2. to go below the surface of the water, as a submarine.
  3. to plunge, fall, or descend through the air, into the earth, etc.: The acrobats dived into nets.
  4. (of an airplane) to descend rapidly.
  5. to penetrate suddenly into something, as with the hand: to dive into one's purse.
  6. to dart: to dive into a doorway.
  7. to enter deeply or plunge into a subject, activity, etc.
—v.t.
  1. to cause to plunge, submerge, or descend.
  2. to insert quickly; plunge: He dived his hand into his pocket.
—n.
  1. an act or instance of diving.
  2. a jump or plunge into water, esp. in a prescribed way from a diving board.
  3. the vertical or nearly vertical descent of an airplane at a speed surpassing the possible speed of the same plane in level flight.
  4. a submerging, as of a submarine or skindiver.
  5. a dash, plunge, or lunge, as if throwing oneself at or into something: He made a dive for the football.
  6. a sudden or sharp decline, as in stock prices.
  7. a dingy or disreputable bar or nightclub.
  8. a false show of being knocked out, usually in a bout whose result has been prearranged: to take a dive in an early round.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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