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• dan
  dan

  noun

  a degree of expertise in karate, judo, tae kwon do, etc., usually signified by the wearing of a cloth belt of a particular color; level.
• Dan
  Dan

  noun
• Dan.
  Dan.

  abbreviation

  Daniel.

dan

¹ American  

[dahn, dan] / dɑn, dæn /

noun

Martial Arts.

1. a degree of expertise in karate, judo, tae kwon do, etc., usually signified by the wearing of a cloth belt of a particular color; level.

   a sixth-degree dan.

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Dan ² American  

[dan] / dæn /

noun

1. 1. (in the Bible) a son of Jacob and Bilhah.

   2. one of the 12 tribes of ancient Israel, traditionally descended from him.

2. the northernmost city of ancient Palestine.

3. a male given name, form of Daniel.

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idioms

1. from Dan to Beersheba, from one outermost extreme or limit to the other.

Dan ³ American  

[dan] / dæn /

noun

Archaic.

1. a title of honor equivalent to master or sir:

   Dan Chaucer.

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Dan. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Bible. Daniel.

2. Danish. Also Dan

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Dan ¹ British  

/ dæn /

noun

1. 1. the fourth son of Jacob (Genesis 30:1–6)

   2. the tribe descended from him

2. a city in the northern territory of Canaan

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Dan. ² British  

abbreviation

1. Bible Daniel

2. Danish

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dan ³ British  

/ dæn /

noun

1. any one of the 10 black-belt grades of proficiency

2. a competitor entitled to dan grading

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Dan ⁴ British  

/ dæn /

noun

1. an archaic title of honour, equivalent to Master or Sir

   Dan Chaucer

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dan ⁵ British  

/ dæn /

noun

1. Also called: dan buoy.  a small buoy used as a marker at sea

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Etymology

Origin of dan¹

First recorded in 1940–45; from Japanese, from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese duàn “step, grade”

Origin of Dan³

1275–1325; Middle English < Old French danz < Medieval Latin domnus, contraction of Latin dominus “lord, master”

Example Sentences

Infrastructure, says Dan Payne, chief investment officer at SlateStone Wealth.

From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026

An A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack aircraft also crashed during the mission to extract them, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine later said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

“How can you not be excited about the host nation training in your facility?” said Dan Rutstein, president of business operations of the Orange County club.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

Dan McCarthy, a senior adviser at Veda Partners, also was skeptical.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026

“Is your name Robert? No. Dan? No. It’s not Balthasar or Nebuchadnezzar or Spindleshanks or Cruikshanks. I know what your name is.”

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff