/ daɪv; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
( dived , dived , NAmE also dove / dəʊv; NAmE doʊv/ dived ) [ v ]
JUMP INTO WATER
1.
dive (from / off sth) (into sth) | dive (in) to jump into water with your head and arms going in first :
We dived into the river to cool off.
UNDERWATER
2.
(usually go diving ) to swim underwater wearing breathing equipment, collecting or looking at things :
to dive for pearls
The main purpose of his holiday to Greece was to go diving.
—see also diving
3.
to go to a deeper level underwater :
The whale dived as the harpoon struck it.
OF BIRDS / AIRCRAFT
4.
to go steeply down through the air :
The seagulls soared then dived.
—see also nosedive
OF PRICES
5.
to fall suddenly
SYN plunge :
The share price dived from 49p to an all-time low of 40p.
MOVE / JUMP / FALL
6.
[+ adv. / prep. ] dive (for sth) ( informal ) to move or jump quickly in a particular direction, especially to avoid sth, to try to catch a ball, etc. :
We heard an explosion and dived for cover (= got into a place where we would be protected) .
The goalie dived for the ball, but missed it.
It started to rain so we dived into the nearest cafe.
7.
( in football ( soccer ), hockey , etc. ) to fall deliberately when sb tackles you, so that the referee awards a foul
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- dive into sth
■ noun
JUMP INTO WATER
1.
a jump into deep water with your head first and your arms in front of you :
a spectacular high dive (= from high above the water)
UNDERWATER
2.
an act of going underwater and swimming there with special equipment :
a dive to a depth of 18 metres
OF BIRDS / AIRCRAFT
3.
an act of suddenly flying downwards
BAR / CLUB
4.
( informal ) a bar, music club, etc. that is cheap, and perhaps dark or dirty
FALL
5.
( BrE ) ( in football ( soccer ), hockey , etc. ) a deliberate fall that a player makes when sb tackles them, so that the referee awards a foul
•
IDIOMS
- make a dive (for sth)
- take a dive
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English dūfan dive, sink and dӯfan immerse , of Germanic origin; related to deep and dip .