dash

1
[ dash ]
See synonyms for: dashdasheddashing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to strike or smash violently, especially so as to break to pieces: He dashed the plate into smithereens against the wall.

  2. to throw or thrust violently or suddenly: to dash one stone against another.

  1. to splash, often violently; bespatter (with water, mud, etc.): He recovered consciousness when they dashed water in his face.

  2. to apply roughly, as by splashing: to dash paint here and there on the wall.

  3. to mix or adulterate by adding another substance: to dash wine with water.

  4. to ruin or frustrate (hopes, plans, etc.): The rain dashed our hopes for a picnic.

  5. to depress; dispirit: The failure dashed his spirits.

  6. to confound or abash: His rejection dashed and humiliated him.

verb (used without object)
  1. to strike with violence: The waves dashed against the cliff.

  2. to move with violence; rush: The horses dashed out of the burning stable.

noun
  1. a small quantity of anything thrown into or mixed with something else: a dash of salt.

  2. a hasty or sudden movement; a rush or sudden onset: They all made a dash for the door.

  1. the mark or sign (—) used to note an abrupt break or pause in a sentence or hesitation in an utterance, to begin and end a parenthetic word, phrase, or clause, to indicate the omission of letters or words, to divide a line, to substitute for certain uses of the colon, and to separate any of various elements of a sentence or series of sentences, as a question from its answer.

  2. the throwing or splashing of liquid against something: the dash of the waves against the dock.

  3. the sound of such splashing: The dash of the waves on the beach could be heard from afar.

  4. spirited action; vigor in action or style; élan: The dancer performed with spirit and dash.

  5. Track. a short race: a 100-yard dash.

  6. Telegraphy. a signal of longer duration than a dot, used in groups of dots, dashes, and spaces to represent letters, as in Morse code.

  7. a hasty stroke, especially of a pen.

  8. Archaic. a violent and rapid blow or stroke.

Verb Phrases
  1. dash off,

    • to hurry away; leave: I must dash off now.

    • Also dash down . to write, make, accomplish, etc., hastily: We dashed off a letter to announce the news. He dashed down a memo.

Idioms about dash

  1. cut a dash, to make a striking impression; be ostentatious or showy.

Origin of dash

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English verb dashen, daishen, dassen “to strike violently (as with a weapon)”; perhaps from Old Norse; compare Danish daske “to slap, flap,” Swedish daska “to slap (with an open hand)”; the noun is derivative of the verb

synonym study For dash

10. See rush1.

Other words for dash

Words Nearby dash

Other definitions for dash (2 of 3)

dash2
[ dash ]

verb (used with object)Chiefly British.
  1. to damn (usually used as an interjection).

Origin of dash

2
First recorded in 1790–1800; euphemism based on d—n, printed form of damn

Other definitions for dash (3 of 3)

dash3
[ dash ]

noun
  1. a tip, bribe, or recompense.

verb (used with object)
  1. to give a tip or bribe to (especially a government employee).

Origin of dash

3
First recorded in 1780–1790; perhaps alteration of dashee “gratuity, gift, tip,” used on the African coast along the Gulf of Guinea

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dash in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dash (1 of 3)

dash1

/ (dæʃ) /


verb(mainly tr)
  1. to hurl; crash: he dashed the cup to the floor; the waves dashed against the rocks

  2. to mix: white paint dashed with blue

  1. (intr) to move hastily or recklessly; rush: he dashed to her rescue

  2. (usually foll by off or down) to write (down) or finish (off) hastily

  3. to destroy; frustrate: his hopes were dashed

  4. to daunt (someone); cast down; discourage: he was dashed by her refusal

noun
  1. a sudden quick movement; dart

  2. a small admixture: coffee with a dash of cream

  1. a violent stroke or blow

  2. the sound of splashing or smashing: the dash of the waves

  3. panache; style: he rides with dash

  4. cut a dash See cut (def. 33)

  5. the punctuation mark , used singly in place of a colon, esp to indicate a sudden change of subject or grammatical anacoluthon, or in pairs to enclose a parenthetical remark

  6. the symbol (–) used, in combination with the symbol dot (·), in the written representation of Morse and other telegraphic codes: Compare dah

  7. athletics another word (esp US and Canadian) for sprint

  8. informal short for dashboard

Origin of dash

1
Middle English dasche, dasse

British Dictionary definitions for dash (2 of 3)

dash2

/ (dæʃ) /


interjection
  1. informal a euphemistic word for damn (def. 1), damn (def. 2)

British Dictionary definitions for dash (3 of 3)

dash3

/ (dæʃ) Western African /


noun
  1. a gift, commission, tip, or bribe

verb
  1. to give (a dash) to someone

Origin of dash

3
C16: perhaps from Fanti

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for dash

dash

A punctuation mark (—) used to indicate a sudden break in thought, to set off parenthetical material, or to take the place of such expressions as that is and namely: “He's running for reelection — if he lives until then”; “Very few people in this class — three, to be exact — have completed their projects”; “She joined the chorus for only one reason — she loves to sing.” In the last example, where the parenthetical material comes at the end of the sentence rather than in the middle, a colon could be used instead of the dash.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.