dashing
Americanadjective
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energetic and spirited; lively.
a dashing hero.
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elegant and gallant in appearance and manner.
a dashing young cavalry officer.
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showy; stylish.
adjective
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spirited; lively
a dashing young man
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stylish; showy
a dashing hat
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of dashing
Explanation
Someone who's dashing is stylish, with a certain bold, attractive spirit. Your dashing uncle might charm and impress your friends with his stories of travels around the world and his fashionable outfits. Characters in old books are frequently dashing — adventurous and gallant, like a dashing hero on a white horse or a dashing pirate seeking his fortune at sea. The adjective dashing is almost always used to describe men, and for that reason it's a bit old-fashioned. In the 18th and 19th centuries "to cut a dash" meant "to act brilliantly" or "to give a showy appearance," and dashing came from this meaning.
Vocabulary lists containing dashing
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
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The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
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Almost American Girl
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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.
Dashing back and forth between patches, the kids covered far more than eight miles, but arrived at the lodge with stained fingers and full bellies before 3 p.m.
From New York Times • Apr. 27, 2022
Dashing Sri Lanka batter Charith Asalanka misses out despite averaging 46.20, while Chris Woakes came close for his scene-setting top-order scalps for England.
From BBC • Nov. 15, 2021
Dashing and fearless, Ricardo Rodriguez was only 20 when he crashed at this track in a non-championship F1 race in 1962.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 3, 2021
Dashing around the room, Khpalwak grabbed a robe to cover her bare arms and hid away a small set of decorative drums.
From Reuters • Sep. 3, 2021
Dashing, I thought, in a scrawny poet kind of way.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
Definitions 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.
