calve
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to give birth to a calf.
The cow is expected to calve tomorrow.
-
(of a glacier, an iceberg, etc.) to break up or splinter so as to produce a detached piece.
verb (used with object)
-
to give birth to (a calf ).
-
(of a glacier, an iceberg, etc.) to break off or detach (a piece).
The glacier calved an iceberg.
verb
-
to give birth to (a calf)
-
(of a glacier or iceberg) to release (masses of ice) in breaking up
Etymology
Origin of calve
before 1000; Middle English calven, Old English (Anglian) *calfian, derivative of calf calf 1; cognate with Old English ( West Saxon ) cealfian
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As the ice thinned, this smooth foundation allowed large sections to lift off the ground and float, triggering an unusual and sudden calving event.
From Science Daily
The Mexican cowboys became adept at everything from calving to branding to overseeing the kind of long-distance cattle drives that later became a staple of the western.
From Los Angeles Times
The size and makeup of the particles also revealed that the main source of iron was not dust, but icebergs calved from West Antarctica.
From Science Daily
"She had an easy calving, the vet said the calves were easy to get out, it was just the stress of carrying so many calves."
From BBC
Don’t forget Canada’s zombie wildfires, the Texas floods, the late autumn Southwest heat waves, the calving Doomsday glacier and on and on.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
