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Glite Dictionary
to cavern out

to cavern out

1 8.3
Make a deep hollow inside rock, like a tunnel
  • phrasal verb
: excavar
  • The engineers began to cavern out a new tunnel beneath the mountain.

Examples

  • Workers used specialized equipment to cavern out storage spaces within the rock.

  • Years of erosion gradually caverned out the limestone cliffs along the coast.

  • They decided to cavern out the old mine.

  • The workers are caverning out the hillside for the new tunnel.

  • The engineers began to cavern out a new tunnel beneath the mountain.

  • Workers used specialized equipment to cavern out storage spaces within the rock.

  • They decided to cavern out the old mine to create more usable area.

Synonyms

to burrow
vsto cavern out
39 4.0

To move through something by digging a hole or tunnel

describes deliberate large-scale hollowing rather than narrow, animallike digging
to dig out
vsto cavern out
36 3.2

Remove something that is under the ground or snow using a shovel

stresses much deeper, cavernous hollowing rather than simple removal
to tunnel
vsto cavern out
27 3.5

To dig a passage under something

aims at forming a very wide and deep internal cavity rather than a passage
to hollow
vsto cavern out
22 4.8

To remove the inside of something to make an empty space

means a much deeper and more extensive interior removal
to hollow out
vsto cavern out
21 4.0

Remove the inside of something to leave an empty space

implies a deeper and more extensive removal than simple emptying
to gouge out
vsto cavern out
15 7.4

To make a deep cut or groove in a surface by scraping

focuses on much larger, more extensive interior removal than a groove
to excavate
vsto cavern out
12 6.0

To make a hole by removing earth or rock

is less technical and stresses very deep, extensive hollowing
to cave
vsto cavern out
1 7.5

To hollow rock by water or strong wind

refers to deliberate deep hollowing rather than natural erosion
to cavern
vsto cavern out
1 7.8

To make a large empty space by hollowing rock or ground

hollows more deeply and extensively to create a very large empty space

How Deep

to gouge out
15 7.4
to cavern out
1 8.3
to excavate
12 6.0
to dig out
36 3.2

Surface Forms

cavern out infinitive
caverned out past
caverned out past participle
caverning out present participle
caverns out third person singular

Morphology

cavern + out

The meaning 'to hollow out deeply' is directly and compositionally derived from 'cavern' (to make a hollow) combined with the particle 'out' (indicating outward removal or completion). This verb+out pattern is productive in English (compare carve out, dig out, hollow out) and is cross-linguistically common, so a learner who knows the constituents would likely infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The verb cavern out creates a picture of workers cutting a large cavern into rock and pushing the rock out, leaving a deep empty space. So it means 'to hollow out' something deeply, as if making a cavern.