the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
verb-intransitive. To drop with the nose or front first, as of an airplane.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. a steep nose-down descent by an aircraft
n. a sudden sharp drop or rapid decline
v. plunge nose first; drop with the nose or front first, of aircraft
n. a steep nose-down descent by an aircraft
Word Usage
"Ever since the "Flash Crash" in May of 2010 - when the market took an unprecedented short-term nosedive due to computer-driven trading - many investors had wondered if the growing popularity of exchange-traded funds was somehow driving the market through its manic periods."