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dice

[dahys]
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plural noun, singular die.
  1. small cubes of plastic, ivory, bone, or wood, marked on each side with one to six spots, usually used in pairs in games of chance or in gambling.
  2. poker dice.
  3. any of various games, especially gambling games, played by shaking and throwing from two to six dice or poker dice onto a flat surface.Compare craps.
  4. any small cubes.
  5. Auto Racing. a jockeying for lead position between two or more drivers in which tactics are used to pass or keep from being passed.
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verb (used with object), diced, dic·ing.
  1. to cut into small cubes.
  2. to decorate with cubelike figures.
  3. to lose by gambling with dice (often followed by away).
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verb (used without object), diced, dic·ing.
  1. to play at dice.
  2. to cause or bring about by gambling with dice.
  3. Auto Racing. to duel with another car or cars in a dice.
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Idioms
  1. no dice, Informal. of no use or help; ineffective.
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Origin of dice

1300–50; Middle English dees, dis, dyce (singular and plural), dyces (plural) < Old French de(i)z, dés (plural); see die2
Related formsdic·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for dicer

Historical Examples

  • With the sandbox tilted in the air, like a dicer about to make his throw, he looked at the lad.

    The Tavern Knight

    Rafael Sabatini

  • At this moment a loud peal of laughter greeted the second dicer.

  • He leaned forward, white and eager, waiting for the truth like a dicer for the final throw.

    Dragon's blood

    Henry Milner Rideout

British Dictionary definitions for dicer

dice

pl n
  1. cubes of wood, plastic, etc, each of whose sides has a different number of spots (1 to 6), used in games of chance and in gambling to give random numbers
  2. Also called: die (functioning as singular) one of these cubes
  3. small cubes as of vegetables, chopped meat, etc
  4. no dice slang, mainly US and Canadian an expression of refusal or rejection
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verb
  1. to cut (food, etc) into small cubes
  2. (intr) to gamble with or play at a game involving dice
  3. (intr) to take a chance or risk (esp in the phrase dice with death)
  4. (tr) Australian informal to abandon or reject
  5. (tr) to decorate or mark with dicelike shapes
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Derived Formsdicer, noun

Word Origin

C14: plural of die ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dicer

dice

v.

"to cut into cubes," late 14c., from dice (n.). Meaning "to play at dice" is from early 15c. Related: Diced; dicing.

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dice

n.

early 14c., des, dys, plural of dy (see die (n.)), altered 14c. to dyse, dyce, and 15c. to dice. "As in pence, the plural s retains its original breath sound, probably because these words were not felt as ordinary plurals, but as collective words" [OED]. Sometimes used as singular 1400-1700.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with dicer

dice

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.