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• dada
  dada

  noun

  the style and techniques of a group of artists, writers, etc., of the early 20th century who exploited accidental and incongruous effects in their work and who programmatically challenged established canons of art, thought, morality, etc.
• Dada
  Dada

  noun

  a nihilistic artistic movement of the early 20th century in W Europe and the US, founded on principles of irrationality, incongruity, and irreverence towards accepted aesthetic criteria

dada

American  

[dah-dah] / ˈdɑ dɑ /

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)

1. the style and techniques of a group of artists, writers, etc., of the early 20th century who exploited accidental and incongruous effects in their work and who programmatically challenged established canons of art, thought, morality, etc.

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Dada British  

/ ˈdɑːdɑː /

noun

1. a nihilistic artistic movement of the early 20th century in W Europe and the US, founded on principles of irrationality, incongruity, and irreverence towards accepted aesthetic criteria

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Other Word Forms

• Dadaist
  noun
• dadaism
  noun
• dadaist
  noun
• Dadaistic
  adjective
• dadaistic
  adjective
• Dadaistically
  adverb
• dadaistically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of dada

1915–20; < French: hobby horse, childish reduplication of da giddyap

Explanation

Dada is another way to say "daddy" or "papa," a nickname for your father. The word dada is also the name of an early 20th-century art movement that protested conventional ideas using humor and absurdity. Across most cultures, dada is an extremely common first word (or sound) spoken by babies. In English, this is usually translated as "dad" or "daddy," and it sometimes continues to be a young child's name for their father. The avant-garde art movement took the word as its name, often capitalized as Dada, from its silly, innocent sound and multiple meanings (including "rocking horse" in French and "yes, yes" in Romanian). Ironically, this art movement was intentionally anti-art, with Dadaist artists claiming that "Dada means nothing."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dada Dada

Inspired by the absurdist, avant-garde art movement dada, he became a leading figure of the British comedy scene alongside contemporaries like Alan Bennett, Dudley Moore and Spike Milligan.

From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2023

With no resonating chamber in the throat, they can manage little beyond mama, dada, ga-ga.

From New York Times ● Feb. 10, 2021

Now they won’t have their daddy and sister here to teach them, and that is truly a loss, I do not understand what I’m so thankful Kobe heard Coco say dada.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2020

The introductory text of one room, titled Readymade in Paris and New York, seems, for example, to be a more or less a hat-game description of the word dada.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 16, 2019

“Look, we should ask your dada first—” he began.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

On a recent weekday morning, Body Dada’s signature class — aptly named “Body Dada the Class” — was mostly full, with about 10 participants.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

And he said, “I don’t want Dada to sit alone.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026

"Travesties" two years later, imagined a meeting between Lenin, James Joyce and poet and founder of the Dada movement Tristan Tzara, who all lived in Zurich in 1917.

From Barron's ● Nov. 29, 2025

Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero said at the time that the city was "ready to host the G20".

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2025

It had taken Fadi half an hour to convince Uncle Amin’s elderly parents, Dada and Abay, to pose for him, but finally they’d agreed.

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai