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

Van Veen's hard work looked to be in vain as he missed five match darts, but Humphries was equally wasteful and fell to a fourth consecutive loss to the Dutchman.

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I begrudgingly rise from my marshmallow chair and dart around the room, pulling comic books and toiletries into my suitcase like a speed-packing vortex.

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His eyes darted from one auburn head to the next.

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Penelope darted ahead of the children and sank to her knees, one hand extended toward the shadows.

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Or the peregrine falcons, with their bladelike talons and darting eyes that could spot a tasty field mouse on the ground from hundreds of feet in the air?

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Related Words

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