dive

[ dahyv ]
/ daɪv /

verb (used without object), dived or dove, dived, div·ing.

verb (used with object), dived or dove, dived, div·ing.

to cause to plunge, submerge, or descend.
to insert quickly; plunge: He dived his hand into his pocket.

noun

Origin of dive

before 900; Middle English diven to dive, dip, Old English dȳfan to dip (causative of dūfan to dive, sink); cognate with Old Norse dȳfa dip, German taufen to baptize; akin to dip1

usage note for dive

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM dive

post·dive, adjective pre·dive, adjective un·der·dive, noun un·der·dive, verb (used without object), un·der·dived or un·der·dove, un·der·dived, un·der·div·ing.

Definition for dive (2 of 2)

diva
[ dee-vuh, -vah ]
/ ˈdi və, -vɑ /

noun, plural di·vas, di·ve [dee-ve] /ˈdi vɛ/.

a distinguished female singer; prima donna.

Origin of diva

1880–85; < Italian < Latin dīva, feminine of dīvus god; cf. divine

Example sentences from the Web for dive

British Dictionary definitions for dive (1 of 2)

dive
/ (daɪv) /

verb dives, diving or dived or US dove or dived (mainly intr)

noun

Word Origin for dive

Old English dӯfan; related to Old Norse dӯfa to dip, Frisian dīvi; see deep, dip

British Dictionary definitions for dive (2 of 2)

diva
/ (ˈdiːvə) /

noun plural -vas or -ve (-vɪ)

a highly distinguished female singer; prima donna

Word Origin for diva

C19: via Italian from Latin: a goddess, from dīvus divine