dit

[ dit ]

/ dɪt /

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noun

an echoic word, the referent of which is a click or brief tone interval, used to designate the dot of Morse code, International Morse code, etc.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Compare dah.

Origin of dit

First recorded in 1935–40

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dit in a sentence

"La paix fourre," Soulier, Histoire des dits de pacification, 73.
History of the Rise of the Huguenots|Henry Baird
Indeed, among the "on dits" which a traveller picks up, gambling is said to be the great vice of Russia.
Incidents of Travel in Greece, Turkey, Russia, and Poland, 7th ed. Vol. 2 of 2|John Lloyd Stephens
Your knowledge of human nature should teach you how little truth is generally found in the floating on dits of social circles.
Vashti|Augusta J. Evans Wilson
Lady Dering has been absent on the Continent during the season, and is utterly ignorant of all the on dits of the day.
Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 22, August, 1878|Various

Although the visitation was unheralded by the customary flourish of trumpeting on dits, it was extremely successful.
The Magnificent Montez|Horace Wyndham

British Dictionary definitions for dit

dit

/ (dɪt) /

noun

the short sound used, in combination with the long sound dah, in the spoken representation of Morse and other telegraphic codesCompare dot 1 (def. 6)

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