Nearby Words

dashes

[dash] Origin

dash

1[dash]
verb (used with object)
1.
to strike or smash violently, especially 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.
EXPAND
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.
COLLAPSE
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.

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Dashes is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
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.
EXPAND
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, especially of a pen.
21.
Archaic. a violent and rapid blow or stroke.
COLLAPSE
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.
23.
cut a dash, to make a striking impression; be ostentatious or showy.

Origin:
1250–1300; (v.) Middle English dasshen, perhaps < Old Norse; compare Danish daske slap, flap, Swedish daska; (noun) Middle English: blow, clash, derivative of the v.


10. dart, bolt. See rush1. 11. pinch, bit; touch.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

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.
verb (used with object)
3.
to give a tip or bribe to (especially a government employee).

Origin:
1780–1790; perhaps first recorded in Dutch as dache, dasche (1602); origin uncertain, but often alleged to be < Portuguese das (you) give (2nd singular present indicative of dar to give)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To dashes
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

dash
c.1300, 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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

dash definition


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.
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