/duyv/ , v. , dived or dove, dived, diving , n.
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. Aeron. (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.
8. to cause to plunge, submerge, or descend.
9. to insert quickly; plunge: He dived his hand into his pocket.
n.
10. an act or instance of diving.
11. a jump or plunge into water, esp. in a prescribed way from a diving board.
12. the vertical or nearly vertical descent of an airplane at a speed surpassing the possible speed of the same plane in level flight.
13. a submerging, as of a submarine or skindiver.
14. a dash, plunge, or lunge, as if throwing oneself at or into something: He made a dive for the football.
15. a sudden or sharp decline, as in stock prices.
16. Informal. a dingy or disreputable bar or nightclub.
17. Boxing. a false show of being knocked out, usually in a bout whose result has been prearranged: to take a dive in an early round.
[ bef. 900; ME diven to dive, dip, OE dyfan to dip (causative of dufan to dive, sink); c. ON dyfa dip, G taufen to baptize; akin to DIP ]
Usage . Both DIVED and DOVE are standard as the past tense of DIVE. DIVED, historically the older form, is somewhat more common in edited writing, but DOVE occurs there so frequently that it also must be considered standard: The rescuer dove into 20 feet of icy water. DOVE is an Americanism that probably developed by analogy with alternations like drive, drove and ride, rode. It is the more common form in speech in the northern United States and in Canada, and its use seems to be spreading. The past participle of DIVE is always DIVED.