Dive

Word of the Day

dive

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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.)

scuba diving

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.)

Everyone knows this hotel is a dive.

March 4, 2018