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• dan
  dan

  noun

  a degree of expertise in karate, judo, tae kwon do, etc., usually signified by the wearing of a cloth belt of a particular color; level.
• Dan
  Dan
• Dan.
  Dan.

  abbreviation

  Daniel.

dan

¹ American  

[dahn, dan] / dɑn, dæn /

noun

Martial Arts.

1. a degree of expertise in karate, judo, tae kwon do, etc., usually signified by the wearing of a cloth belt of a particular color; level.

   a sixth-degree dan.

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Dan ² American  

[dan] / dæn /

noun

1. 1. (in the Bible) a son of Jacob and Bilhah.

   2. one of the 12 tribes of ancient Israel, traditionally descended from him.

2. the northernmost city of ancient Palestine.

3. a male given name, form of Daniel.

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idioms

1. from Dan to Beersheba, from one outermost extreme or limit to the other.

Dan ³ American  

[dan] / dæn /

noun

Archaic.

1. a title of honor equivalent to master or sir:

   Dan Chaucer.

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Dan. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Bible. Daniel.

2. Danish. Also Dan

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Dan ¹ British  

/ dæn /

noun

1. 1. the fourth son of Jacob (Genesis 30:1–6)

   2. the tribe descended from him

2. a city in the northern territory of Canaan

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Dan. ² British  

abbreviation

1. Bible Daniel

2. Danish

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dan ³ British  

/ dæn /

noun

1. any one of the 10 black-belt grades of proficiency

2. a competitor entitled to dan grading

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Dan ⁴ British  

/ dæn /

noun

1. an archaic title of honour, equivalent to Master or Sir

   Dan Chaucer

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dan ⁵ British  

/ dæn /

noun

1. Also called: dan buoy.  a small buoy used as a marker at sea

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Etymology

Origin of dan¹

First recorded in 1940–45; from Japanese, from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese duàn “step, grade”

Origin of Dan³

1275–1325; Middle English < Old French danz < Medieval Latin domnus, contraction of Latin dominus “lord, master”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dan Dan Dan.

Kare kare dan dan noodles started as an experimental special, Miranda says, then stayed by popular demand for the silky sesame-and-peanut sauce, savory braised short rib, and creeping, complex, spicy heat.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 30, 2023

Since we were throwing tradition out the window anyway, we decided to blend the meatiness of Sichuan dan dan mian, or spicy noodles with ground pork, with the simplicity of peanut noodles.

From Washington Times ● May 15, 2023

Sunday, Okatsuka would eat dan dan noodles with her grandma and husband and then savor their fight over the check, before goofing around at the mall and later hosting a show.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2023

After he moved to the West Coast in his 20s, Gaw started making dan bing for himself.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 27, 2022

The three brothers followed him, boisterous from the open air and their recent doings, so that now the dan was complete.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Dan Walters describes working for the Sacramento Bee several decades ago as “like living in Sweden.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

The country's president Nicusor Dan condemned on X the "extremely serious" violence and "any attempt to turn a legitimate protest into street fighting".

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

“Warning letters don’t work in black markets,” said Dan Burke, who previously led illegal online pharmacy investigations at the FDA and is now director of intelligence and investigations at the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

“The Pratt vote is of critical importance,” said Dan Schnur, a former Republican political consultant who now is a professor of political communications at USC, UC Berkeley and Pepperdine.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

Many songs we know such were play-party songs such as “Buffalo Gals,” “Skip to my Lou,” “Old Dan Tucker,” “Old Brass Wagon,” “Pop Goes the Weasel,” “Weevily Wheat,” and “B.I.N.G.O.”

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

At a rally in Conroe that year, Trump openly acknowledged the endorsement pipeline, saying Patrick would call him with requests and he would respond, “Absolutely, Dan. Whatever you want, Dan.”

From Salon ● May 29, 2026

"I've always got on well with Cam, Andy, Dan. Those guys have been incredible role models for me and good support. I'm just very lucky to have them, I suppose."

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2023

Sports business analyst Andrew Brandt asked rhetorically, “The hits keep coming for Commander Dan. Continues the decades-long question: why has the NFL protected him so much?”

From Washington Times ● Feb. 28, 2023

“I said, I’m not sure about Dan. Will you watch him this weekend and on the way home tell me your thoughts?,”

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 7, 2022

“My Dad. Dan. I don’t refer to him as Dad anymore.”

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell