dive
  Pronunciation: (dīv), [key]    — v., n. dived dove, dived, div•ing, 
  
 
—v.i. - to plunge into water, esp. headfirst.  
- to go below the surface of the water, as a submarine.  
- to plunge, fall, or descend through the air, into the earth, etc.: The acrobats dived into nets. 
- (of an airplane) to descend rapidly.  
- to penetrate suddenly into something, as with the hand: to dive into one's purse. 
- to dart: to dive into a doorway. 
- to enter deeply or plunge into a subject, activity, etc.  
 
—v.t. - to cause to plunge, submerge, or descend.  
- to insert quickly; plunge: He dived his hand into his pocket. 
 
—n. - an act or instance of diving.  
- a jump or plunge into water, esp. in a prescribed way from a diving board.  
- the vertical or nearly vertical descent of an airplane at a speed surpassing the possible speed of the same plane in level flight.  
- a submerging, as of a submarine or skindiver.  
- a dash, plunge, or lunge, as if throwing oneself at or into something: He made a dive for the football. 
- a sudden or sharp decline, as in stock prices.  
- a dingy or disreputable bar or nightclub.  
- a false show of being knocked out, usually in a bout whose result has been prearranged: to take a dive in an early round. 
 
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.