Spelunker

Quick meaning: Spelunker is a noun meaning (Canada, US) One who explores caves; one who spelunks.

Meaning

(Canada, US) One who explores caves; one who spelunks.

More Meanings

1. (derogatory) An amateur or inadequately prepared caver.

Example Sentences

it is a truth that every caver was once a spelunker with a flashlight and a tangled ball of string.

But the scariest of all’s the witless caver; Spelunker is the name that he goes by. He caves alone with just one light, A worn-out rope, and boots too tight, Looking for a cave in which to die.

I took to fishing, on mountain brooks and lakes, and finally I was inveigled into becoming a spelunker. A spelunker is a human worm who crawls into caves ("splunca" is Latin for cave) and explores them.

“‘Cavers,’” the editor notes, “generally consider ‘spelunkers’ to be people who have no real knowledge or understanding of caves and caving safety, but who decide to enter a cave anyway, usually without proper equipment.”

Word Forms

• spelunkers

Synonyms for spelunker

Depending on context, synonyms include caver, potholer, speleologist, spelaeologist.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include speleologist, potholer, spelaeologist, caver, speleobopper, specker.

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