dive

[[t]daɪv[/t]]

v. dived dove, dived, div•ing,

1) to plunge into water, esp. headfirst

2) to submerge, as a submarine

3) to plunge, fall, or descend through the air, into the earth, etc.:

The acrobats dived into nets[/ex]

4) aer. (of an airplane) to descend rapidly

5) to penetrate suddenly into something, as with the hand:

to dive into one's purse[/ex]

6) to dart:

to dive into a doorway[/ex]

7) to enter deeply or plunge into a subject, activity, etc

8) to cause to plunge, submerge, or descend

9) an act or instance of diving

10) spo a jump or plunge into water, esp. in a prescribed way from a diving board

11) aer. the steep, rapid descent of an airplane at a speed far exceeding that in level flight

12) a submerging, as of a submarine or skindiver

13) a dash, plunge, or lunge, as if throwing oneself at or into something

14) a sudden or sharp decline, as in stock prices

15) inf Informal. a dingy or disreputable bar or nightclub

16) spo (in boxing) a false show of being knocked out, usu. in a bout whose result has been prearranged

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Etymology: bef. 900; ME: to dive, dip, OE dȳfan to dip usage: Both dived and dove are standard as the past tense of dive . dived, the older form, is somewhat more common in edited writing, but dove occurs there so frequently that it also must be considered standard. 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 U.S. and in Canada, and its use seems to be spreading. The past participle of dive is always dived.