dot

¹ American  

[dot, dawt] / dɒt, dɔt /

noun

Civil Law.

1. dowry.

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Dot ² American  

[dot] / dɒt /

noun

1. a female given name, form of Dorothea and Dorothy.

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DOT ³ American  

abbreviation

1. damage over time: (in a video game) an attack that results in light or moderate damage when it is dealt, but that wounds or weakens the receiving character, who continues to lose health in small increments for a specified period of time, or until healed by a spell, potion, etc.

2. Department of Transportation.

3. Dictionary of Occupational Titles: reference book formerly published by the Department of Labor with job titles, descriptions, and official classifications, discontinued in 1999 and replaced by the online Occupational Informational Network.

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dot ⁴ American  

[dot] / dɒt /

noun

1. a small, roundish mark made with or as if with a pen.

2. a minute or small spot on a surface; speck.

   There were dots of soot on the windowsill.

3. anything relatively small or specklike.

4. a small specimen, section, amount, or portion.

   a dot of butter.

5. a period, especially as used when pronouncing an internet address.

6. Music.

   1. a point placed after a note or rest, to indicate that the duration of the note or rest is to be increased one half. A double dot further increases the duration by one half the value of the single dot.

   2. a point placed under or over a note to indicate that it is to be played staccato.

7. Telegraphy. a signal of shorter duration than a dash, used in groups along with groups of dashes and spaces to represent letters, as in Morse code.

8. Printing. an individual element in a halftone reproduction.

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verb (used with object)

dotted, dotting

1. to mark with or as if with a dot or dots.

2. to stud or diversify with or as if with dots.

   Trees dot the landscape.

3. to form or cover with dots.

   He dotted a line across the page.

4. Cooking. to sprinkle with dabs of butter, margarine, or the like.

   Dot the filling with butter.

verb (used without object)

dotted, dotting

1. to make a dot or dots.

idioms

1. on the dot, precisely; exactly at the time specified.

   The guests arrived at eight o'clock on the dot.

2. the year dot, very long ago.

3. dot one's i's and cross one's t's, to be meticulous or precise, even to the smallest detail.

dot ¹ British  

/ dɒt /

noun

1. a small round mark made with or as with a pen, etc; spot; speck; point

2. anything resembling a dot; a small amount

   a dot of paint

3. the mark (˙) that appears above the main stem of the letters i, j

4. music

   1. the symbol (·) placed after a note or rest to increase its time value by half

   2. this symbol written above or below a note indicating that it must be played or sung staccato

5. maths logic

   1. the symbol (.) indicating multiplication or logical conjunction

   2. a decimal point

6. the symbol (·) used, in combination with the symbol for dash (–), in the written representation of Morse and other telegraphic codes Compare dit

7. informal as long ago as can be remembered

8. at exactly the arranged time

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verb

1. (tr) to mark or form with a dot

   to dot a letter

   a dotted crotchet

2. (tr) to scatter or intersperse (with dots or something resembling dots)

   bushes dotting the plain

3. (intr) to make a dot or dots

4. to pay meticulous attention to detail

dot ² British  

/ ˈdəʊtəl, dɒt /

noun

1. civil law a woman's dowry

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dot Scientific  

/ dŏt /

1. A symbol (·) indicating multiplication, as in 2 · 4 = 8. It is used to indicate the dot product of vectors, for example A · B.

2. A period, as used as in URLs and e-mail addresses, to separate strings of words, as in www.hmco.com.

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dot More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing dot

• on the dot
• sign on the dotted line

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Other Word Forms

• dotal adjective
• dotlike adjective
• dotter noun

Etymology

Origin of dot¹

First recorded in 1820–25; from French, from Latin dōtem, accusative of dōs “dowry,” akin to dare “to give”

Origin of dot¹

First recorded before 1000; perhaps to be identified with Old English dott “head of a boil,” though not attested in Middle English; dottle, dit, derivative of Old English dyttan “to stop up” (probably derivative of dott ); cognate with Old High German tutta “nipple”

Example Sentences

The deputy chief told Boyd that Spivey’s body was towed “to make sure that every i’s dotted, t’s crossed to clear you.”

From The Wall Street Journal

After ogling old cars, lean into nostalgia in the Meadow Gold District, dotted with retro shops and “muffler men,” giant fiberglass statues of a lumberjack, a cowboy and more.

From The Wall Street Journal

Each entity is shown here with a dot.

From The Wall Street Journal

The simple set, by the collective dots, features a purple-lacquered dining table and chairs with cabriole legs; flowers in sconces; and soft green walls.

From The Wall Street Journal

You get a polite dotting of fruit, sure, but rarely that jammy, tart little thrum that only arrives when berries are given permission to fully collapse into themselves.

From Salon

Related Words

• dab
• droplet
• fleck
• speck