dash Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun distinctive and stylish elegance
    elan; panache; style; flair.
    • he wooed her with the confident dash of a cavalry officer
  2. noun a quick run
    sprint.
  3. noun a footrace run at top speed
    • he is preparing for the 100-yard dash
  4. noun a punctuation mark (-) used between parts of a compound word or between the syllables of a word when the word is divided at the end of a line of text
    hyphen.
  5. noun the longer of the two telegraphic signals used in Morse code
    dah.
  6. noun the act of moving with great haste
    bolt.
    • he made a dash for the door
  7. verb run or move very quickly or hastily
    shoot; flash; dart; scud; scoot.
    • She dashed into the yard
  8. verb break into pieces, as by striking or knocking over
    smash.
    • Smash a plate
  9. verb hurl or thrust violently
    crash.
    • He dashed the plate against the wall
    • Waves were dashing against the rock
  10. verb destroy or break
    • dashed ambitions and hopes
  11. verb cause to lose courage
    scare away; scare off; frighten off; pall; daunt; scare; frighten away.
    • dashed by the refusal
  12. verb add an enlivening or altering element to
    • blue paint dashed with white

WordNet

Dash transitive verb
Etymology
Of. Scand. origin; cf. Dan daske to beat, strike, Sw. & Icel. daska, Dan. & Sw. dask blow.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Dashed ; present participle & verbal noun Dashing
Definitions
  1. To throw with violence or haste; to cause to strike violently or hastily; -- often used with against.
    If you dash a stone against a stone in the botton of the water, it maketh a sound. Bacon.
  2. To break, as by throwing or by collision; to shatter; to crust; to frustrate; to ruin.
    Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Ps. ii. 9.
    A brave vessel, . . . Dashed all to pieces. Shak.
    To perplex and dash Maturest counsels. Milton.
  3. To put to shame; to confound; to confuse; to abash; to depress. South.
    Dash the proud gameser in his gilded car. Pope.
  4. To throw in or on in a rapid, careless manner; to mix, reduce, or adulterate, by throwing in something of an inferior quality; to overspread partially; to bespatter; to touch here and there; as, to dash wine with water; to dash paint upon a picture.
    I take care to dash the character with such particular circumstance as may prevent ill-natured applications. Addison.
    The very source and fount of day Is dashed with wandering isles of night. Tennyson.
  5. To form or sketch rapidly or carelessly; to execute rapidly, or with careless haste; -- with off; as, to dash off a review or sermon.
  6. To erase by a stroke; to strike out; knock out; -- with out; as, to dash out a word.
Dash intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To rust with violence; to move impetuously; to strike violently; as, the waves dash upon rocks.
    [He] dashed through thick and thin. Dryden.
    On each hand the gushing waters play, And down the rough cascade all dashing fall. Thomson.
Dash noun
Definitions
  1. Violent striking together of two bodies; collision; crash.
  2. A sudden check; abashment; frustration; ruin; as, his hopes received a dash.
  3. A slight admixture, infusion, or adulteration; a partial overspreading; as, wine with a dash of water; red with a dash of purple.
    Innocence when it has in it a dash of folly. Addison.
  4. A rapid movement, esp. one of short duration; a quick stroke or blow; a sudden onset or rush; as, a bold dash at the enemy; a dash of rain.
    She takes upon her bravely at first dash. Shak.
  5. Energy in style or action; animation; spirit.
  6. A vain show; a blustering parade; a flourish; as, to make or cut a great dash. Low
  7. (Punctuation) A mark or line [--], in writing or printing, denoting a sudden break, stop, or transition in a sentence, or an abrupt change in its construction, a long or significant pause, or an unexpected or epigrammatic turn of sentiment. Dashes are also sometimes used instead of marks or parenthesis. John Wilson.
  8. (Mus.) (a) The sign of staccato, a small mark [] denoting that the note over which it is placed is to be performed in a short, distinct manner. (b) The line drawn through a figure in the thorough bass, as a direction to raise the interval a semitone.
  9. (Racing) A short, spirited effort or trial of speed upon a race course; -- used in horse racing, when a single trial constitutes the race.

Webster 1913