def
adverb
definitely.
def
1 American
[def]
/ dɛf /
adverb
Informal.
def
2
American
[def]
/ dɛf /
adjective
def.
3
American
abbreviation
-
defective.
-
defendant.
-
defense.
-
deferred.
-
defined.
-
definite.
-
definition.
def.
1
British
abbreviation
def
2
British
/ dɛf /
adjective
Etymology
Origin of def1
By shortening
Origin of def2
An Americanism dating back to 1980–85; of uncertain origin
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:
"If you're looking for a mental break from the world def get Pokopia, it's like therapy," US-based influencer Ashley Duncan wrote on X.
From Barron's ● Mar. 11, 2026
In text overlaid on the clip, she promised: “This week I go off on the podcast.. def going to ruffle some feathers & I didn’t stutter.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2024
The liaison office is the def facto representative of Beijing in Hong Kong, which, since handover from Britain to China in 1997, has been run as a Special Administrative Region, or SAR.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 11, 2023
“And we def have to catch up for drinks before you leave.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 7, 2023
“Oh, yes! I want to def —” He ignored her outburst.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
Last year, for instance, The Guardian reported that it would soon be published in 140-word chunks “exclusively via Twitter,” with rewritten archival material, like “JFK assassin8d @ Dallas, def. heard second gunshot from grassy knoll.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2010
For def. of recitative in vocal music, see p.
From Music Notation and Terminology by Karl Wilson Gehrkens
This follows from def. three; for each substance must be conceived in itself and through itself; in other words, the conception of one does not involve the conception of the other.
From Ancient and Modern Celebrated Freethinkers Reprinted From an English Work, Entitled "Half-Hours With The Freethinkers." by Charles Bradlaugh
From kina, hina, originated the Icelandic and Swedish pastpositive def. article the; likewise Dak kin postpositive def. article the; ke emphatic pronoun kuns, clf, etc.
From The Dakotan Languages, and Their Relations to Other Languages by A. W. (Andrew Woods) Williamson
See the reply given by Plutarch, de def. orac.
From The Conflict of Religions in the Early Roman Empire by T. R. (Terrot Reaveley) Glover
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.
