(with reference to a roof or similar structure) subside or collapse or cause something to do this (屋顶等)下陷,坍塌,倒塌;使下陷,使倒塌 the ceiling caved in. 天花板塌了。 Len's club would have caved his skull in. 伦的棍子就已经把他脑袋打陷下去了。 ■(figurative)yield or submit under pressure (喻)(在压力下)屈服,屈从 the manager caved in to his demands. 经理屈从了他的要求。
语源
Middle English: from Old French, from Latin cava, from cavus 'hollow' (compare with cavern). The usage cave in may be from the synonymous dialect expression calve in, influenced by obsolete cave 'excavate, hollow out'