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dash

 - 8 dictionary results

dash

1  [dash]
Use dash in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to strike or smash violently, esp. so as to break to pieces: He dashed the plate into smithereens against the wall.
2. to throw or thrust violently or suddenly: to dash one stone against another.
3. to splash, often violently; bespatter (with water, mud, etc.): He recovered consciousness when they dashed water in his face.
4. to apply roughly, as by splashing: to dash paint here and there on the wall.
5. to mix or adulterate by adding another substance: to dash wine with water.
6. to ruin or frustrate (hopes, plans, etc.): The rain dashed our hopes for a picnic.
7. to depress; dispirit: The failure dashed his spirits.
8. to confound or abash: His rejection dashed and humiliated him.
–verb (used without object)
9. to strike with violence: The waves dashed against the cliff.
10. to move with violence; rush: The horses dashed out of the burning stable.
–noun
11. a small quantity of anything thrown into or mixed with something else: a dash of salt.
12. a hasty or sudden movement; a rush or sudden onset: They all made a dash for the door.
13. the mark or sign (—) used to note an abrupt break or pause in a sentence or hesitation in an utterance, to begin and end a parenthetic word, phrase, or clause, to indicate the omission of letters or words, to divide a line, to substitute for certain uses of the colon, and to separate any of various elements of a sentence or series of sentences, as a question from its answer.
14. the throwing or splashing of liquid against something: the dash of the waves against the dock.
15. the sound of such splashing: The dash of the waves on the beach could be heard from afar.
16. spirited action; élan; vigor in action or style: The dancer performed with spirit and dash.
17. Track. a short race: a 100-yard dash.
18. dashboard (def. 1).
19. Telegraphy. a signal of longer duration than a dot, used in groups of dots, dashes, and spaces to represent letters, as in Morse code.
20. a hasty stroke, esp. of a pen.
21. Archaic. a violent and rapid blow or stroke.
—Verb phrase
22. dash off,
a. to hurry away; leave: I must dash off now.
b. Also, dash down. to write, make, accomplish, etc., hastily: We dashed off a letter to announce the news. He dashed down a memo.
—Idiom
23. cut a dash, to make a striking impression; be ostentatious or showy.
Origin:
1250–1300; (v.) ME dasshen, perh. < ON; cf. Dan daske slap, flap, Sw daska; (n.) ME: blow, clash, deriv. of the v.

Synonyms:
10. dart, bolt. See rush 1 . 11. pinch, bit; touch.

dash

2  [dash]
–verb (used with object) Chiefly British.
to damn (usually used interjectionally).
Origin:
1790–1800; euphemism based on d—n, printed form of damn

dash

3  [dash] (in West Africa)
–noun
1. a tip, bribe, or recompense.
2. bribery.
–verb (used with object)
3. to give a tip or bribe to (esp. a government employee).
Origin:
1780–1790; perh. first recorded in D as dache, dasche (1602); orig. uncert., but often alleged to be < Pg das (you) give (2d sing. pres. indic. of dar to give)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To dash
dash 1   (dāsh)   
v.   dashed, dash·ing, dash·es

v.   tr.

  1. To break or smash by striking violently.

  2. To hurl, knock, or thrust with sudden violence.

  3. To splash; bespatter.

    1. To write hastily. Often used with off: dashed off a note to the dean.

    2. To drink hastily. Often used with down: dashed down a glass of milk.

    3. To add an enlivening or altering element to.

    4. To affect by adding another element or ingredient to: ice cream that was dashed with rum.

    5. To destroy or wreck: Our dreams were dashed. See Synonyms at blast.

    6. To confound; abash.

    1. To add an enlivening or altering element to.

    2. To affect by adding another element or ingredient to: ice cream that was dashed with rum.

    3. To destroy or wreck: Our dreams were dashed. See Synonyms at blast.

    4. To confound; abash.

    1. To destroy or wreck: Our dreams were dashed. See Synonyms at blast.

    2. To confound; abash.

v.   intr.

  1. To strike violently; smash.

  2. To move with haste; rush: dashed to the door.

n.  

  1. A swift, violent blow or stroke: knocked the books to the floor with an impatient dash of his hand.

    1. A splash.

    2. A small amount of an added ingredient: a dash of sherry.

  3. A quick stroke, as with a pencil or brush.

  4. A sudden movement; a rush: made a dash for the exit.

  5. Sports A footrace, usually less than a quarter-mile long, run at top speed from the outset.

  6. A spirited quality in action or style; verve. See Synonyms at vigor.

  7. Either of two symbols, an emdash or an endash, used in writing and in printing.

  8. In Morse and similar codes, the long sound or signal used in combination with the dot and silent intervals to represent letters or numbers.

  9. A dashboard.


[Middle English dashen, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Danish daske, to beat.]
dash 2   (dāsh)   
tr.v.   dashed, dash·ing, dash·es
To damn.

[Alteration of damn.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

dash

A punctuation mark (—) used to indicate a sudden break in thought, to set off parenthetical material, or to take the place of such expressions as that is and namely: “He's running for reelection — if he lives until then”; “Very few people in this class — three, to be exact — have completed their projects”; “She joined the chorus for only one reason — she loves to sing.” In the last example, where the parenthetical material comes at the end of the sentence rather than in the middle, a colon could be used instead of the dash.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

dash 
1297, probably from a Scandinavian source, somehow imitative. The oldest sense is that in dash to pieces and dashed hopes. Intrans. meaning "move quickly" appeared c.1300, that of "to write hurriedly" is 1726. Sporting sense of "race run in one heat" is from 1881. Dashboard of an automobile is first recorded 1904, from earlier meaning "board in front of a carriage to stop mud from being splashed ("dashed") into the vehicle by the horse's hoofs" (1846).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
DASH
Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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