Meanings
nouncave-in (plural cave-ins)
plural cave-ins
- The act of something collapsing or caving in.
We were warned away from the rickety old mine because of the danger of cave-ins.
- idiomaticThe act of relenting.
It was a cave-in, but I let my child have a candy to shut her up.
Synonyms: acquiescence, consent, sellout
verb
- misspellingMisspelling of cave in.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe act of relenting.
Similar
Origin
Deverbal from cave in.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 落磐
- 落磐 (luòpán)the act of something collapsing or caving in
Danish sammenstyrtning
- sammenstyrtningthe act of something collapsing or caving in
Finnish sortuma, sortuma
- sortumathe act of something collapsing or caving in
- sortumathe location where something has caved in
- myöntyminenthe act of relenting
- taipuminenthe act of relenting
French éboulement, éboulement
- éboulementthe act of something collapsing or caving in
- éboulementthe location where something has caved in
Polish zapadnięcie się, zawalenie się
- zapadnięcie sięthe act of something collapsing or caving in
- zawalenie sięthe act of something collapsing or caving in
- załamanie sięthe act of something collapsing or caving in
- zapadliskothe location where something has caved in
- ugięcie sięthe act of relenting
Portuguese desmoronar
- desmoronarthe act of something collapsing or caving in
Russian обва́л, зава́л
- обва́л (obvál)the act of something collapsing or caving in
- зава́л (zavál)the act of something collapsing or caving in
- обва́л (obvál)the location where something has caved in
- зава́л (zavál)the location where something has caved in
Cite this entry
APA
cave-in. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cave-in
MLA
“cave-in.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cave-in. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cave-in,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cave-in.
Source: cave-in on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.