cave



an Aladdin's cave

A place full of treasures. (In The Arabian Nights, Aladdin finds a magic lamp in a cave.) I know you think your garage is full of junk, but to an antiques collector like me, it's an Aladdin's cave!
See also: cave

man cave

A room or area of a house designated for a man to retreat from the rest of his family and relax or engage in hobbies. My husband is watching the football game in his man cave right now.
See also: cave, man

cave in

[for a roof or ceiling] to collapse. The roof of the mine caved in when no one was there. The tunnel caved in on the train.
See also: cave

cave in (to someone or something)

Fig. to give in to someone or something. Finally, the manager caved in to the customer's demands. I refuse to cave in under pressure from my opponent.
See also: cave

cave in (to somebody/something)

to agree to something after originally opposing it give in (to somebody/something) If the pressure from your parents becomes too strong, you might cave in and go to graduate school.
Etymology: based on the literal meaning of cave in (to suddenly fall inward)
See also: cave

an Aladdin's cave

  (British)
a place that contains many interesting or valuable objects (often + of ) We found a shop that was a real Aladdin's cave of beautiful antiques.
See also: cave

the roof caves/falls in

  (American)
if the roof caves in, something very bad suddenly happens to you For the first six years of my life I was happy. Then my father died and the roof caved in.
See hit the ceiling, raise the roof
See also: cave, roof

cave in

1. Fall in, collapse, as in The earthquake made the walls cave in. [Early 1700s]
2. Give in, admit defeat, as in The prosecutor's questions soon made the witness cave in. [Early 1800s]
3. Collapse, faint, or die from exhaustion, as in After a twenty-mile hike I caved in. [Mid-1800s]
See also: cave

cave in

v.
To give way; collapse: The sides of the snow fort caved in. The mine shaft caved in on a group of miners, but fortunately they were rescued.
See also: cave

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Candelariokahn-de-LAH-ryoSpanish
PedroPE-dro (Spanish)Spanish, Portuguese
Wilheard-Anglo-Saxon
Adjoa-Western African, Akan
Applegate['æplga:θ]
Lilly['lili]