- a cave, esp when large and formed by underground water, or a large chamber in a cave
- to shut in or as if in a cavern
- to hollow out
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
cav•ern /ˈkævɚn/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Geologya cave, esp. one that is large and mostly underground.
cav•ern
(kav′ərn),USA pronunciation n.
v.t.
- a cave, esp. one that is large and mostly underground.
- Pathologya cavity that is produced by disease, esp. one produced in the lungs by tuberculosis.
v.t.
- to enclose in or as if in a cavern.
- to hollow out to form a cavern.
- Latin caverna, equivalent. to cav(us) hollow + -erna, as in cisterna cistern
- Middle English caverne 1325–75
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
cavern /ˈkævən/ n
'cavern' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
cavernous
- cove
- undercroft
- antre
- cavernicolous
- grotto
- rimstone
- Shoshone Cavern
- sing
- sonorous
- stifling