dash

¹ American  

[dash] / dæʃ /

noun

1. a tip, bribe, or recompense.

2. bribery.

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verb (used with object)

1. to give a tip or bribe to (especially a government employee).

dash ² American  

[dash] / dæʃ /

verb (used with object)

Chiefly British.

1. to damn (usually used as an interjection).

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dash ³ American  

[dash] / dæʃ /

verb (used with object)

1. to strike or smash violently, especially so as to break to pieces.

   He dashed the plate into smithereens against the wall.

2. to throw or thrust violently or suddenly.

   to dash one stone against another.

3. to splash, often violently; bespatter (with water, mud, etc.).

   He recovered consciousness when they dashed water in his face.

4. to apply roughly, as by splashing.

   to dash paint here and there on the wall.

5. to mix or adulterate by adding another substance.

   to dash wine with water.

6. to ruin or frustrate (hopes, plans, etc.).

   The rain dashed our hopes for a picnic.

7. to depress; dispirit.

   The failure dashed his spirits.

8. to confound or abash.

   His rejection dashed and humiliated him.

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verb (used without object)

1. to strike with violence.

   The waves dashed against the cliff.

2. to move with violence; rush.

   The horses dashed out of the burning stable.

   Synonyms:

   bolt, dart

noun

1. a small quantity of anything thrown into or mixed with something else.

   a dash of salt.

   Synonyms:

   touch, bit, pinch

2. a hasty or sudden movement; a rush or sudden onset.

   They all made a dash for the door.

3. the mark or sign (—) used to note an abrupt break or pause in a sentence or hesitation in an utterance, to begin and end a parenthetic word, phrase, or clause, to indicate the omission of letters or words, to divide a line, to substitute for certain uses of the colon, and to separate any of various elements of a sentence or series of sentences, as a question from its answer.

4. the throwing or splashing of liquid against something.

   the dash of the waves against the dock.

5. the sound of such splashing.

   The dash of the waves on the beach could be heard from afar.

6. spirited action; vigor in action or style; élan.

   The dancer performed with spirit and dash.

7. Track. a short race.

   a 100-yard dash.

8. dashboard.

9. Telegraphy. a signal of longer duration than a dot, used in groups of dots, dashes, and spaces to represent letters, as in Morse code.

10. a hasty stroke, especially of a pen.

11. Archaic. a violent and rapid blow or stroke.

verb phrase

1. dash off

   1. to hurry away; leave.

      I must dash off now.

   2. Also dash down to write, make, accomplish, etc., hastily.

      We dashed off a letter to announce the news.

      He dashed down a memo.

idioms

1. cut a dash, to make a striking impression; be ostentatious or showy.

dash ¹ British  

/ dæʃ /

verb

1. to hurl; crash

   he dashed the cup to the floor

   the waves dashed against the rocks

2. to mix

   white paint dashed with blue

3. (intr) to move hastily or recklessly; rush

   he dashed to her rescue

4. to write (down) or finish (off) hastily

5. to destroy; frustrate

   his hopes were dashed

6. to daunt (someone); cast down; discourage

   he was dashed by her refusal

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noun

1. a sudden quick movement; dart

2. a small admixture

   coffee with a dash of cream

3. a violent stroke or blow

4. the sound of splashing or smashing

   the dash of the waves

5. panache; style

   he rides with dash

6. See cut

7. the punctuation mark — , used singly in place of a colon, esp to indicate a sudden change of subject or grammatical anacoluthon, or in pairs to enclose a parenthetical remark

8. the symbol (–) used, in combination with the symbol dot (·), in the written representation of Morse and other telegraphic codes Compare dah

9. athletics another word (esp US and Canadian) for sprint

10. informal short for dashboard

dash ² British  

/ dæʃ /

noun

1. a gift, commission, tip, or bribe

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verb

1. to give (a dash) to someone

dash ³ British  

/ dæʃ /

interjection

1. informal a euphemistic word for damn damn

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dash Cultural  

1. A punctuation mark (—) used to indicate a sudden break in thought, to set off parenthetical material, or to take the place of such expressions as that is and namely: “He's running for reelection — if he lives until then”; “Very few people in this class — three, to be exact — have completed their projects”; “She joined the chorus for only one reason — she loves to sing.” In the last example, where the parenthetical material comes at the end of the sentence rather than in the middle, a colon could be used instead of the dash.

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Usage

What is a basic definition of dash? Dash is a verb that means to strike violently, to run quickly over a short distance, or to frustrate or ruin. Dash is also used as a noun to mean a small amount of something added to a mixture. Dash has many other senses as a verb and a noun.Usually, we say that something was dashed against something else. For example, if you dash a glass jar against the ground, you throw or bash it violently against the ground. In this sense, dash often implies that something was destroyed or was smashed into many pieces.Real-life examples: You might want to dash your phone against your desk when it isn’t working right. You can dash water on your face to help wake you up in the morning.Used in a sentence: I dashed the clock against the wall and it broke into a dozen pieces. Dash can also mean to run very quickly over a short distance.Real-life examples: Holiday shoppers dash to the store to buy gifts before the shelves are empty. Horses dash to the finish line when trying to win a race. You might dash to the bus stop so you don’t miss the bus.Used in a sentence: I dashed toward the table to stop my cat from falling to the floor. Dash is used in this same sense as a noun to mean a short burst of movement. It is a synonym of the word sprint.Used in a sentence: I made a wild dash to the stove to grab the last slice of pizza. Dash can also mean to frustrate or ruin.Used in a sentence: My dreams of being a soccer player were dashed when I found out I had asthma. As a noun, dash means a small amount of something that is used as an ingredient. This sense of dash is synonym of the words hint or pinch.Real-life examples: A recipe may ask for a dash of cinnamon. You might put a dash of sprinkles on your ice cream cone. A person may add a dash of chlorine to a swimming pool to kill algae.Used in a sentence: I threw a dash of pepper into the soup. 

Related Words

See rush ¹.

Etymology

Origin of dash¹

First recorded in 1780–1790; perhaps alteration of dashee “gratuity, gift, tip,” used on the African coast along the Gulf of Guinea

Origin of dash¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; euphemism based on d—n, printed form of damn

Origin of dash¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English verb dashen, daishen, dassen “to strike violently (as with a weapon)”; perhaps from Old Norse; compare Danish daske “to slap, flap,” Swedish daska “to slap (with an open hand)”; the noun is derivative of the verb

Example Sentences

He often steps out of the fog with a clear thought and dashes off an email about it.

From The Wall Street Journal

Antler’s multi-bet strategy stands out in a venture industry that is generally making fewer deals—even with the industry’s mad dash to AI.

From The Wall Street Journal

Yet hopes that the boyhood United fan could make United competitive again at home and in Europe have so far been dashed.

From Barron's

One night, Gastfriend and another prisoner made a dash for freedom.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Hopes for a full rebound were dashed by volatility from tariffs, an extended government shutdown, and a late pullback in AI stocks,” said analysts for Renaissance Capital in a 2026 IPO preview report.

From Barron's

Related Words

• bolt
• bound
• chase
• dart
• fly
• gallop
• hurry
• rush
• scamper
• scoot
• scurry
• shoot
• sprint
• tear