ditto

[dit-oh]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ditto ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural dit·tos.

the aforesaid; the above; the same (used in accounts, lists, etc., to avoid repetition). Abbreviation: do. Symbol: ″.Compare ditto mark.

another of the same.

Informal. a duplicate; copy.

adverb

as already stated; likewise.

verb (used with object), dit·toed, dit·to·ing.

to make a copy of, using a Ditto machine.

to duplicate or repeat the action or statement of (another person).

Origin of ditto

1615–25; < Italian, variant of detto < Latin dictus said, past participle of dīcere to say; see dictum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for ditto

double, clone, facsimile, reproduction, copy, duplication, likewise

Examples from the Web for ditto

Contemporary Examples of ditto

Ditto Virginia, but in reverse; culturally, northern Virginia is Yankee land (but with gun shops).
Dems, It’s Time to Dump Dixie
Michael Tomasky
December 8, 2014
When the former engaged in his drone filibuster, Cruz showed up in support; ditto for Paul when Cruz held an Obamacare filibuster.
Rand Paul Beats Ted Cruz, Saves NSA From ‘Reform’
Tim Mak, Olivia Nuzzi
November 19, 2014
Ditto Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who won easily, and might parlay his success into a presidential bid.
For Conservatives, Liberal Tears Taste Sweet
Matt Lewis
November 5, 2014
Ditto that the Court acted (or in-acted) “without providing any explanation whatsoever.”
Who Are the Judicial Activists Now?
Michael Tomasky
October 7, 2014
Ditto for Nancy Writebol the other American flown back in that dramatic first wave.
The CDC Was Wrong About How to Stop Ebola
Kent Sepkowitz
October 1, 2014

Historical Examples of ditto

In tabular work reversed commas are used as a sign for ditto.
Punctuation
Frederick W. Hamilton
The dash is sometimes used in catalogue work as a ditto mark.
Punctuation
Frederick W. Hamilton
Ditto,” cried Waller still more emphatically; “what say you, Hawkswing?
The Wild Man of the West
R.M. Ballantyne
The fodder is odious, not fit for a pig, and the wine is ditto.
The New Tenant
E. Phillips Oppenheim
Cromwell was mad and a quack; Anselm, Becket, Goethe, ditto ditto.
Past and Present
Thomas Carlyle

British Dictionary definitions for ditto

ditto

noun plural -tos

the aforementioned; the above; the same. Used in accounts, lists, etc, to avoid repetition and symbolized by two small marks (ˌ) known as ditto marks, placed under the thing repeatedAbbreviation: do

informal

a duplicate
(as modifier)a ditto copy

adverb

in the same way

sentence substitute

informal used to avoid repeating or to confirm agreement with an immediately preceding sentence

verb -tos, -toing or -toed

(tr) to copy; repeat

Word Origin for ditto

C17: from Italian (Tuscan dialect), variant of detto said, from dicere to say, from Latin

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 ditto

1620s, Tuscan dialectal ditto "(in) the said (month or year)," literary Italian detto, past participle of dire "to say," from Latin dicere (see diction).

Originally used in Italian to avoid repetition of month names in a series of dates; generalized meaning of "same as above" first recorded in English 1670s. Dittohead, self-description of followers of U.S. radio personality Rush Limbaugh, attested by 1995. dittoship is from 1869.