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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

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Etymology

Origin of dada

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

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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

Mr Currie's show, Shtoom, is described on the theatre website as a "unique, surrealist, dada punk-clown, non-verbal experience".

From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2024

But, whether it's "papa," "dada" or "vater," what is striking is the cross-cultural bias in the words used to describe him – and how the same names have stuck around over millennia.

From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2022

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

“Your dada changes his opinions more often than his socks,” the boy said.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

The home was built by the couple for Richard's parents, Nino and Dada Rogers.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

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

In July this year, an alleged Ghanaian fraudster, popularly known as Dada Joe Remix, was extradited to the US for using romance and inheritance schemes to defraud Americans.

From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2025

It pounced upon the coincidence that James Joyce, the Dada poet and essayist Tristan Tzara and Vladimir Lenin were all living in Zurich in 1917.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025

“She lied to us! What can we do, Kulang? Can we tell Dada? What can we do?”

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman

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