dart

[dahrt]

noun

1. a small, slender missile that is pointed at one end and usually feathered at the other and is propelled by hand, as in the game of darts, or by a blowgun when used as a weapon.

   Synonyms: barb, arrow

2. something similar in function to such a missile, as the stinging member of an insect.

3. (used with a singular verb),  darts, a game in which darts are thrown at a target usually marked with concentric circles divided into segments and with a bull's-eye in the center.

4. an act of darting; a sudden swift movement.

5. a tapered seam of fabric for adjusting the fit of a garment.

verb (used without object)

1. to move swiftly; spring or start suddenly and run swiftly.

   A mouse darted out of the closet and ran across the room.

   Synonyms: shoot, bolt, dash

verb (used with object)

1. to thrust or move suddenly or rapidly.

   He darted his eyes around the room.

dart

¹

/ dɑːt /

noun

1. a small narrow pointed missile that is thrown or shot, as in the game of darts

2. a sudden quick movement

3. zoology a slender pointed structure, as in snails for aiding copulation or in nematodes for penetrating the host's tissues

4. a tapered tuck made in dressmaking

verb

1. to move or throw swiftly and suddenly; shoot

   she darted across the room

dart

²

/ dɑːt /

noun

1. any of various tropical and semitropical marine fish

Other Word Forms

• dartingly adverb
• dartingness noun
• darting adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dart¹

1275–1325; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French < Old Low Franconian; compare Old English daroth, Old High German tart, Old Norse darrathr spear, lance

Word History and Origins

Origin of dart¹

C14: from Old French, of Germanic origin; related to Old English daroth spear, Old High German tart dart

Origin of dart²

from Middle English darce , from Late Latin dardus , dart, javelin

Example Sentences

It darted below Harper’s swing for a strikeout.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Right above the shores of Huntington Beach, a retired American subsonic T-33 fighter jet darted across the blue canvas of a clear afternoon sky, leaving a spiraling plume of smoke in its wake.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Despite the film’s eerie setting filled with slanting shadows, splattered blood and furtive movements darting just out of frame, Indy provides a visual oasis – thanks to a warm golden coat accented with white markings.

Read more on Salon

Each arrival, in its own way, marked a sharp swerve in the fortunes of a grief-bludgeoned Iraqi family that has spent the past 15 years darting around Europe in a state of legal limbo.

Read more on BBC

AI doesn’t have to throw darts in the dark — it can take informed risks, provided we treat that action as success and not failure.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• bound 
• dash 
• flash 
• fling 
• flit 
• float 
• gallop 
• hurry 
• hurtle 
• scamper 
• scoot 
• scurry 
• skim 
• sprint