ditto

American  

[dit-oh] / ˈdɪt oʊ /

noun

• dittos,
  plural
• dittoes
  plural

1. the aforesaid; the above; the same (used in accounts, lists, etc., to avoid repetition). do. ″.

2. another of the same.

3. Informal. a duplicate; copy.

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adverb

1. as already stated; likewise.

verb (used with object)

dittoed, dittoing

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

2. to make a copy of, as by using a Ditto machine.

ditto British  

/ ˈdɪtəʊ /

noun

1. do. 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 repeated

2. informal

   1. a duplicate

   2. ( as modifier )

      a ditto copy

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adverb

1. in the same way

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

verb

1. (tr) to copy; repeat

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dittoes
  plural
• dittos
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of ditto

First recorded in 1615–25; from Italian, variant of detto “said,” from Latin dictus, past participle of dīcere “to say”; see dictum ( def. )

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Explanation

A ditto looks like a quotation mark — " — and it's used as you go down a list to indicate you're repeating whatever is above. If your jellies and jams all cost $2.00, you can write $2.00 just once with the first item on your price list and " in the price column next to each item listed below. You can also use the word ditto informally to describe repetition: "I can't believe you wore those shoes. Ditto that hat." You may recognize Ditto as the aptly named son of the comic strip characters Hi and Lois; he’s the twin brother of Dot.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ditto dittoes dittos dittoed

Insurance companies will ask about family history, including whether relatives have suffered from dementia, and at what age; ditto for heart disease, among other age-related diseases.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

For the first half of the 20th century, this need was addressed—sort of—via mimeographs and ditto machines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 15, 2025

That Ellie is relentless has been made abundantly clear; ditto the fact that she is confused about her purpose in life.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2025

“Mum didn’t teach them because she was out at work and Dad ditto, if he ever could cook!”

From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2024

“I’ll be in the ditto room,” said Mrs. Baker.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

A dot-and-go-one suit of dittoes went for best, so to speak, with his curly red hair, and got the better of it by a long way.

From The Man Who Drove the Car by Sir Max Pemberton

Jaunty men in loud suits of dittoes have come into the north country, and display fly-books that vie in the variegated brilliancy of their contents with a Dutch tulip bed.

From Camps, Quarters, and Casual Places by Archibald Forbes

But what the mischief do you mean—you, with your pretence to culture—by hanging your dwelling with all those framed and glazed photograph and autograph dittoes?

From Select Conversations with an Uncle (Now Extinct) And Two Other Reminiscences by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

It was a dingy apartment, with a single large horse-hair chair and half a dozen small wooden dittoes, placed with mathematical precision along the walls.

From The Firm of Girdlestone by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

And Matilda had come out in the home dress she had worn while she and Maria had been washing up the dinner dittoes.

From What She Could by Susan Warner

She had such a clear vision, he said: That the movie should center on a mall, that there should be surreal shots, like the kids smelling their dittos.

From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2018

His hands were always blue from the ink, mostly because he hauled the dittos out from the machine while they were still wet from the alcohol—the smell of which gave the room a tang.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

Mrs. Baker came back into the room with a pile of blue dittos.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

Catch the Spirit!—and they handed out a stack of dittos, and for the next thirty minutes, Principal Peattie stood on the stage and read them to us.

From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt

It must be our honest worth, our sterling merit, that attracts them—certainly not our appearance, in a pair of tweed "dittos," black angora coat and vest, stand-up collar, and chimney-pot hat!

From Second Thoughts of an Idle Fellow by Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome

This understanding is dittoed for the batter who’s on a hitting streak, the poker player who’s drawing strong hands and the stock picker who has a run of soaring successes.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 27, 2023

This sentiment was dittoed in a post from somebody named Louise.

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2010

He dittoed these off like a major publisher.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

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