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PlainSpell

dive

/daɪv/verb, noun

dive is spelled D-I-V-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,878th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “dive vs dove” about 10 times a month (Bing, United States). As a verb, dive means “To swim under water” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in dive?

Letters4: D-I-V-E
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing13 times per million words; the 5,878th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is dive?

Dive appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,878th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce dive?

  • /daɪv/

As a noun: /ˈdiːveɪ/.

Dive has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-dive.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-dive.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-dive2.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with dive

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

dive vs dove10 B

Also written: dove.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with dive?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as dive.

Spelled with the same letters in another order: devi, vide.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of dive

  • dives present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • diving participle, present
  • dived past, participle, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • dove US, past, participle, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • doven US, participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does dive mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To swim under water.

    He dove in the water to save her.

  2. 2

    To jump into water head-first.

  3. 3

    To jump headfirst toward the ground or into another substance.

    to dive into home plate

  4. 4

    To descend sharply or steeply.

  5. 5

    To lose altitude quickly by pointing downwards, as with a bird or aircraft.

  6. 6

    To undertake with enthusiasm.

    She dove right in and started making improvements.

  7. 7

    To deliberately fall down after a challenge, imitating being fouled, in the hope of getting one's opponent penalised.

  8. 8

    To leap while fielding to take a brilliant catch which usually results in a wicket and appreciation.

noun

  1. 1

    A jump or plunge into water.

    the dive of a hawk after prey

  2. 2

    A headfirst jump toward the ground or into another substance.

  3. 3

    A downward swooping motion.

  4. 4

    A swim under water.

  5. 5

    A decline.

  6. 6

    slangA seedy bar, nightclub, etc.

  7. 7

    Aerial descent with the nose pointed down.

  8. 8

    A deliberate fall after a challenge.

  9. 9

    plural of diva (a form of diva)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Dive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchnager, plonger (to swim under water), se plonger (to jump into water head-first), chiquer (sports: imitate a foul), plongeon (a jump into water), plongée (a swim under water)
Germantauchen (to swim under water), einen Kopfsprung machen (to jump into water head-first), eine Schwalbe machen (sports: imitate a foul), Tauchen (a swim under water), abtauchen (to descend), eintauchen (undertake enthusiastically)
Portuguesemergulhar (to swim under water), simular (sports: imitate a foul), mergulho (a jump into water), despencar (to descend), queda (a decline), antro (seedy bar)
Spanishbucear, somorgujar (to swim under water), hacer un clavado, zambullirse, zabullirse, zampuzarse (to jump into water head-first)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does dive come from?

From Middle English diven, duven, from the merger of Old English dȳfan (“to dip, immerse”, transitive weak verb) (from Proto-Germanic *dūbijaną) and dūfan (“to duck, dive, sink, penetrate”, intransitive strong verb) (past participle ġedofen). Cognate with Icelandic dýfa (“to dip, dive”), Low German bedaven (“covered, covered with water”). See also deep, dip.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after dive