Word of the Day: Dive
To dive is to go below or into something. For example, people might dive into the water when they are swimming.
| simple | past | past participle |
|---|---|---|
|
dive
|
dived or dove
|
dived
|
-
Swimmers dive into the water from the side of a pool. (This sentence is in the present tense.)
-
My friend, George, is a very good diver.
-
Sometimes George uses a diving board to dive into the water.
-
Have you ever dived off of a diving board? (This question is in the present perfect tense.)
-
The children dove into the water. (This sentence is in the past tense.)
-
A submarine can dive very deeply below the surface of the water.
-
Scuba diving is a popular activity in areas where the water is warm and clear. (The word “diving” is a gerund in this sentence.)
You can also dive under something for protection.
-
When the alarm sounded, everyone dove for cover.
-
Guests at a hotel dived under tables and chairs when they heard gunfire in the lobby.
You can also dive into something that you enjoy or need to do:
-
Sherry is looking forward to diving into a novel she picked up at the library.
-
I can’t wait to dive into this big dish of ice cream.
-
Our accountant needs to dive into the numbers that we gave him to figure out how much of a profit we made last year.
-
Don’t dive too deeply into someone else’s personal business.
When the word “dive” is used as a noun, it has a few different meanings.
-
This place is a dive. (It’s not a very clean place.)
-
Don’t go there. It’s a dive.
-
Jeremy likes going to dive bars on the weekends.
-
The bar we go to has a reputation for being a dive, but that’s why we like it.
-
The basketball team took a dive. (take a dive = try to lose a competition)
-
The fans noticed that the soccer team was taking a dive and started to boo.
-
The boxer was paid over $50,000 to take a dive. (In sports that involve betting, sometimes competitors intentionally lose.)
Essential English Dictionary
Visit the Popular English Words Beginning with D page to see the list of all words starting with letter D. For seeing the HiCafe dictionary, visit the Popular English Words with Meaning page.
