detail
Americannoun
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details
plural
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an individual or minute part; an item or particular.
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particulars collectively; minutiae.
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attention to or treatment of a subject in individual or minute parts.
to postpone detail and concentrate on a subject as a whole.
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intricate, finely wrought decoration.
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Engineering. detail drawing.
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any small section of a larger structure or whole, considered as a unit.
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Military.
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an appointment or assignment, as of a small group or an officer, for a special task.
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the party or person so selected.
the kitchen detail.
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a particular assignment of duty.
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the property of an image or of a method of image production to make small, closely spaced image elements individually distinguishable.
verb (used with object)
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details,
present (3rd person singular)
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detailed,
past participle, past
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detailing
present participle
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to relate or report with complete particulars; tell fully and distinctly.
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to mention one by one; specify; list.
He detailed the events leading up to the robbery.
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Military. to appoint or assign for some particular duty.
We were detailed to patrol the border.
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to provide with intricate, finely wrought decoration.
lingerie detailed with lace and embroidery.
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to thoroughly clean (a vehicle or part of a vehicle) and do minor repairs to improve its appearance.
We detail the wheels and chrome to remove the rust.
idioms
noun
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an item or smaller part that is considered separately; particular
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an item or circumstance that is insignificant or unimportant
passengers' comfort was regarded as a detail
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treatment of or attention to items or particulars
this essay includes too much detail
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items collectively; particulars
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a small or accessory section or element in a painting, building, statue, etc, esp when considered in isolation
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military
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the act of assigning personnel for a specific duty, esp a fatigue
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the personnel selected
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the duty or assignment
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to include all or most particulars
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including all or most particulars or items thoroughly
verb
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to list or relate fully
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military to select (personnel) for a specific duty
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to decorate or elaborate (carving, etc) with fine delicate drawing or designs
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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detailsimple
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detailssimple
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have detailedperfect
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has detailedperfect
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am detailingprogressive
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are detailingprogressive
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is detailingprogressive
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have been detailingperfect progressive
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has been detailingperfect progressive
Past
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detailedsimple
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had detailedperfect
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was detailingprogressive
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were detailingprogressive
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had been detailingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of detail
First recorded in 1595–1605; from French détail, Old French, noun derivative of detailler “to cut in pieces,” equivalent to de- “away, apart , etc.” ( see dis- 1) + tailler “to cut,” from unattested Vulgar Latin taliāre; see tailor 1
Explanation
A detail is a small fact or spot in a larger entity. That ambiguous smile is just one detail of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Detail comes from the French for cutting into pieces, but in English we only use it to refer to the pieces. As a noun, detail means an isolated aspect of something larger. If you're painting a landscape, don't forget details like individual birds and trees. Detail can also mean a team of workers for a special task. If you go on a group camping trip, try for the food detail instead of the trash detail.
Vocabulary lists containing detail
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Academic Vocabulary: Core Tier 2 Words, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Part of Stewart’s journey over the course of the show is coming to understand that Jordan is an infinite puzzle and it’s OK if he doesn’t understand every nuance and detail.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
"He was being subjected to relentless scrutiny, including ridicule, discrediting absolutely every detail of his life," Baron-Cohen said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
They also add important detail to scientists' understanding of how diet interacts with the microbiome.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
We spent over a week analyzing those videos frame-by-frame to pull out every detail we could find—usernames, emails, calendar invites and internal tools.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Photos of his father were impossible to come by; Boaz had to rely on Hila’s descriptions of him, but he had committed every single detail she told him to memory.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
Pavlich declined to say whether any arrests had been made, nor provide any details on how many players were involved.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
"This bas-relief was already known, but no one had ever noticed the identical details to those found in Homer's cave. This is the first time such a detailed geographical description came to light," he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
A cause and other details surrounding her death were not immediately disclosed.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
Lower basin states now await details on how much they may have to cut.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
The nitty-gritty details of the historical event itself might slip in and out of my brain like water through a screen, but this, this I could do.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Those findings helped set the stage for more detailed observations with NASA's Hubble and James Webb space telescopes.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
The council's website adds that a detailed assessment and review was carried out by the Environment Agency in 2008 and "as a result the site is not considered a harm to the local environment."
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
The company says detailed engineering design tops 95% and procurement exceeds 80%, and notes that mechanical completion remains on target for late 2027.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Her story gained traction a second time after a U.K. newspaper detailed how the woman whose son’s heart Herres had received had offered to pay for the drug so Herres could keep taking it.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
Cat studied the detailed drawings on her bedroom wall.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
On Aug. 14, the Wall St Journal published a report detailing how proprietary trading giant Jane Street lost $15 billion that month as it had become a significant investor in Situational Awareness LP.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
Lawmakers have expressed concern in recent days about reports detailing a lack of fresh food and personal supplies aboard the carrier, as well as plumbing backups and mental-health problems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
In an update late Tuesday to a blog post detailing its probe into the incident, OpenAI said its AI agent affected these "publicly-available services," though it did not name the companies.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Grammy winner Steve Lacy joined the festivities during the film’s Hollywood premiere on Monday, detailing more than just his original song for the latest “Spider-Man” flick.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
She wrote another memo, this one five pages, detailing the facts on the morning of the accident.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
