dais
Americannoun
-
daises
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dais
1225–75; Middle English deis < Anglo-French ( Old French dois ) < Latin discus quoit; see discus
Explanation
A speaker stands on a dais, or a platform, when giving a presentation. If you were speaking at the Coffee Lovers of America's conference, you'd step onto the dais so the audience could see you over their enormous cups o' joe. Dais comes to us from the Old French word deis, which was originally pronounced with only one syllable — more like days than the current day-us. If you take a course in a lecture hall, your professor will need to stand on the dais so everyone can see her better.
Vocabulary lists containing dais
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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:
Leo Kelly—a devout Christian Iowan who was seen ascending the Senate dais, leafing through sensitive documents, and praying in the chamber—described it as “a blessing.”
From Slate ● May 28, 2026
The president was sitting on the dais in a cavernous ballroom when several distant bangs were heard around 8:30 p.m.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
When Mullin walked to the dais, he shook only one hand: O'Brien's.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026
But Hernandez allegedly benefited from some of the votes he cast from the dais, catching the attention of the Riverside County District Attorney’s office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2025
A huge raised dais stood at the far end of the room, atop which rested an obsidian throne inlaid with silver and ivory skulls.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
It's a pretty neat trick for a plant, but also pretty baffling to botanists, who have been intrigued by beetle daises for centuries.
From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2023
This time, senators were spread out on two sets of daises.
From Fox News ● May 5, 2020
It’s a warm morning, the sky is cloudless and the marshes of the Hoo Peninsula, 25 miles downriver from London, are thick with daises and red clover.
From New York Times ● Nov. 6, 2018
After the first break, most of the senators who had already asked questions elected not to return, and the entire bottom row of daises was entirely empty for much of the remaining time.
From Slate ● Apr. 10, 2018
He would stride the daises and the stages with his voice strong and clear, unafraid to speak the language like a Puritan and like a Chinaman and like every boat person in between.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
