dice

noun

small cubes of plastic, ivory, bone, or wood, marked on each side with one to six spots, usually used in pairs in games of chance or in gambling.

poker dice.

any of various games, especially gambling games, played by shaking and throwing from two to six dice or poker dice onto a flat surface. Compare craps.

any small cubes.

Auto Racing. a jockeying for lead position between two or more drivers in which tactics are used to pass or keep from being passed.

Relevant Questions

verb (used with object)

to cut into small cubes.

to decorate with cubelike figures.

to lose by gambling with dice (often followed by away ).

00:10

Dice is one of our favorite verbs.

So is kibitz. Does it mean:

to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.

chat, to converse

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verb (used without object)

to play at dice.

10.

to cause or bring about by gambling with dice.

11.

Auto Racing. to duel with another car or cars in a dice.

Idioms

12.

no dice, Informal. of no use or help; ineffective.

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English dees, dis, dyce (singular and plural), dyces (plural) < Old French de(i)z, dés (plural); see die²

Related forms

dic·er, noun

Can be confused: dice, die, dye.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

Machinery.

any of various devices for cutting or forming material in a press or a stamping or forging machine.

a hollow device of steel, often composed of several pieces to be fitted into a stock, for cutting the threads of bolts or the like.

one of the separate pieces of such a device.

a steel block or plate with small conical holes through which wire, plastic rods, etc., are drawn.

an engraved stamp for impressing a design upon some softer material, as in coining money.

singular of dice.

Architecture, dado ( def 1 ).

verb (used with object)

to impress, shape, or cut with a die.

Idioms

the die is cast, the irrevocable decision has been made; fate has taken charge: The die is cast—I can't turn back.

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English de (in early Modern English taking the vowel of the plural form dice) < Old French de(i), presumbly < Latin datum given (neuter past participle of dare to give), perhaps in the derivative sense “put, placed,” hence “played, cast”

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To dice

Collins

World English Dictionary

dice (daɪs)

—*pl n*
1.	cubes of wood, plastic, etc, each of whose sides has a different number of spots (1 to 6), used in games of chance and in gambling to give random numbers
2.	(functioning as singular) Also called: die one of these cubes
3.	small cubes as of vegetables, chopped meat, etc
4.	slang chiefly (US), (Canadian) no dice an expression of refusal or rejection

—vb
5.	to cut (food, etc) into small cubes
6.	(intr) to gamble with or play at a game involving dice
7.	(intr) to take a chance or risk (esp in the phrase dice with death)
8.	informal (Austral) (tr) to abandon or reject
9.	(tr) to decorate or mark with dicelike shapes

[C14: plural of die²]

'dicer

—n

die¹ (daɪ)

—vb (often foll by away, down, or out) (often foll by away or down) (foll by for or an infinitive) , dies, dying, died
1.	(of an organism or its cells, organs, etc) to cease all biological activity permanently: she died of pneumonia
2.	(of something inanimate) to cease to exist; come to an end: the memory of her will never die
3.	to lose strength, power, or energy, esp by degrees
4.	to become calm or quiet; subside: the noise slowly died down
5.	to stop functioning: the engine died
6.	to languish or pine, as with love, longing, etc
7.	informal (usually foll by of) to be nearly overcome (with laughter, boredom, etc)
8.	theol to lack spiritual life within the soul, thus separating it from God and leading to eternal punishment
9.	(tr) to undergo or suffer (a death of a specified kind) (esp in phrases such as die a saintly death)
10.	(foll by to) to become indifferent or apathetic (to): to die to the world
11.	informal never say die never give up
12.	die hard to cease to exist after resistance or a struggle: old habits die hard
13.	die in harness to die while still working or active, prior to retirement
14.	be dying to be eager or desperate (for something or to do something): I'm dying to see the new house
15.	informal to die for highly desirable: a salary to die for

usage It was formerly considered incorrect to use the preposition from after die, but of and from are now both acceptable: he died of/from his injuries

die² (daɪ)

—n
1.	a. a shaped block of metal or other hard material used to cut or form metal in a drop forge, press, or similar device
	b. a tool of metal, silicon carbide, or other hard material with a conical hole through which wires, rods, or tubes are drawn to reduce their diameter
2.	Compare tap an internally-threaded tool for cutting external threads
3.	See also die-cast a casting mould giving accurate dimensions and a good surface to the object cast
4.	architect the dado of a pedestal, usually cubic
5.	another name for dice
6.	as straight as a die perfectly honest
7.	the die is cast the decision that commits a person irrevocably to an action has been taken

[C13 dee, from Old French de, perhaps from Vulgar Latin datum (unattested) a piece in games, noun use of past participle of Latin dare to play]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

dice

early 14c., des, dys, plural of dy (see die (n.)), altered 14c. to dyse, dyce, and 15c. to dice. "As in pence, the plural s retains its original breath sound, probably because these words were not felt as ordinary plurals, but as collective words" [OED]. Sometimes used as singular

1400-1700. The verb "to cut into cubes" is first recorded late 14c. Related: Diced.

die

mid-12c., possibly from O.Dan. døja or O.N. deyja "to die, pass away," both from P.Gmc. *dawjanan, from PIE base *dheu- "to pass away, become senseless." It has been speculated that O.E. had *diegan, from the same source, but it is not in any of the surviving texts and the preferred words were

steorfan (see starve), sweltan (see swelter), wesan dead, also forðgan and other euphemisms. Languages usually don't borrow words from abroad for central life experiences, but "die" words are an exception, since they are often hidden or changed euphemistically out of superstitious dread. A Du. euphemism translates as "to give the pipe to Maarten." Regularly spelled dege through 15c., and still pronounced "dee" by some in Lancashire and Scotland. Used figuratively (of sounds, etc.) from 1580s. Related: Died; dies.

die

early 14c. (as a plural), from O.Fr. de, of uncertain origin, perhaps from L. datum "given," pp. of dare (see date (1)), which, in addition to "give," had a secondary sense of "to play" (as a chess piece); or else from "what is given" (by chance or Fortune). Sense of "stamping

block or tool" first recorded 1690s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

die (dī)
v. died, dy·ing (dī'ĭng), dies

To cease living; become dead; expire.
To cease existing, especially by degrees; fade.

Slang Dictionary

die definition

in.
to “perish” (figuratively) from laughter or some other emotionally intense response. : The whole audience died laughing.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage

Abbreviations & Acronyms

DICE
data integration and collection environment

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

dice

see load the dice; no deal (dice).