dive

1 verb past tense dived also dove AmE (I)

1 JUMP INTO WATER to jump into water with your head and arms first

(+ into/off etc): Sally dived expertly into the pool. | Diving off the cliffs is very dangerous.

2 GO DEEPER to go deeper under water: The submarine began to dive.

3 SWIM UNDER WATER to swim under water using special breathing equipment: frogmen diving for sunken treasure

4 BIRD/AIRCRAFT if a bird or an aircraft dives, it goes down through the air very quickly and steeply, head first

5 JUMP FORWARDS (always + adv/prep) to jump forwards or to one side in order to catch something or to avoid something

(+ after/towards/aside etc): Jackson dived after the ball.

6 INTO BUILDING/CROWD to quickly go into a building or a crowd of people

(+ into): We dived into a coffee shop to avoid the rain.

7 dive into your bag/pockets etc to put your hand into your bag, pockets etc so that you can get something out

dive in phrasal verb (I)

1 to start doing something eagerly and energetically: Harvey dived in with several questions.

2 dive in! spoken used to invite people to start eating a meal

2 noun (C)

1 a jump into the water with your head and arms first

2 make a dive for to move quickly and suddenly towards something

3 informal a place such as a bar or club that is cheap and dirty: I've heard the new club's a bit of a dive.