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• des
  des

  preposition

  used in French names as a contraction of de and the article les: François des Adrets.
• DES
  DES

  abbreviation

  diethylstilbestrol.
• -des
  -des

  a plural suffix appearing in loanwords from Greek.

des

¹ American  

[dey] / deɪ /

preposition

1. used in French names as a contraction of de and the article les: François des Adrets.

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DES ² American  

abbreviation

1. diethylstilbestrol.

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-des ³ American  

1. a plural suffix appearing in loanwords from Greek.

   proboscides.

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DES British  

abbreviation

1. Department of Education and Science

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DES Scientific  

/ dē′ē-ĕs′ /

1. Short for diethylstilbestrol. A synthetic nonsteroidal substance having estrogenic properties and prescribed between 1938 and 1971 to pregnant women with a history of miscarriage and other problems of pregnancy. It is no longer used due to the incidence of certain vaginal cancers and other disorders in the daughters of women so treated.

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Etymology

Origin of -des

< Greek, nominative plural of d- stem nouns

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

des DES

She loved Caló des Moro, a beach nestled between steep cliffs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

After its theft in October, Maison des Lumières launched a security audit carried out by police officers appointed by France's cultural ministry, mayor Caviezel says.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Comme des Garçons ended up becoming the thing I really loved.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

The theft also triggered an internal crisis at the Louvre, leading to the replacement of its president Laurence des Cars by Leribault.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

On August 5, Ulbrickson had gotten in an argument—loud, multilingual, and largely incomprehensible to all involved—with officials from the Federation Internationale des Societes d’Aviron and German Olympic officials.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Brett Bezio, a spokesperson for DES, said the agency is focusing on reducing the state’s error rate to ensure “the program remains a stable resource for vulnerable Arizonans.”

From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2026

Last summer, DES also laid off about 500 employees in response to the elimination of federal grants and in anticipation of additional federal cuts.

From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2026

DES MOINES, Iowa — For Democrats in Iowa, this year’s Super Tuesday is a break from five decades of tradition in how the state gets its say in helping determine the presidential nominee.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 5, 2024

"As the universe expands, the matter density goes down," said DES director and spokesperson Rich Kron, who is a Fermilab and University of Chicago scientist.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 8, 2024

The NSA put a lot of political muscle behind an effort to have DES deaffirmed and replaced with newer encryption algorithms.

From Terminal Compromise: computer terrorism: when privacy and freedom are the victims: a novel by Winn Schwartau