Phrase
cave in
verb
塌陷；坍塌
To collapse inward or downward.
- 1.
To collapse inward or downward.
向内或向下塌陷
- 2.
To cause to collapse inward or downward.
导致向内或向下塌陷
- 3.
To relent; to grant approval against one's initial will.
让步；违心同意
让步；屈服；使塌陷；压塌；向内或向下塌陷；导致向内或向下塌陷；让步；违心同意
In use
The old tunnel caved in after the heavy rain.
He refused to cave in to their demands, even under pressure.
The roof was caving in under the weight of the snow.
cave in (intransitive, physical)
The mine shaft caved in after the explosion.
爆炸后矿井塌陷了。
cave sth in (transitive, physical)
The heavy snow caved in the roof of the shed.
大雪压塌了棚屋的屋顶。
cave in to sth/sb (figurative)
通常后接to+压力/要求/人等
The company caved in to the union's demands.
Connections
Collocations
- cave in under pressure
- 在压力下屈服
- He finally caved in under pressure from his family.他在家人的压力下最终屈服了。
- cave in to demands
- 屈服于要求
- The government refused to cave in to the terrorists' demands.政府拒绝屈服于恐怖分子的要求。
- cave in on itself
- 自身塌陷
- The old mine shaft caved in on itself.旧矿井塌陷了。
- cave in from exhaustion
- 因精疲力竭而倒下
- After the long hike, he just caved in from exhaustion.长途跋涉后，他因精疲力竭而倒下了。
- cave in completely
- 完全垮掉
- The roof caved in completely under the weight of the snow.屋顶在雪的重量下完全塌陷了。
Idioms & figurative uses
Learner notes
Memory Tip
山洞塌陷，意指屈服或下陷。
Context & Register
语域：mixed 常见场景：physical collapse of structure、yielding under pressure or argument 该短语在物理塌陷（如屋顶、地面）和比喻屈服（如谈判、压力下）两种语境中都很常见，注册混合，具体取决于使用场景。
Grammar Note
常用作不及物动词；表示屈服时常与to连用，如cave in to pressure.
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.