to strike or smash violently, especially so as to break to pieces: He dashed the plate into smithereens against the wall.
to throw or thrust violently or suddenly: to dash one stone against another.
to splash, often violently; bespatter (with water, mud, etc.): He recovered consciousness when they dashed water in his face.
to apply roughly, as by splashing: to dash paint here and there on the wall.
to mix or adulterate by adding another substance: to dash wine with water.
to ruin or frustrate (hopes, plans, etc.): The rain dashed our hopes for a picnic.
to depress; dispirit: The failure dashed his spirits.
to confound or abash: His rejection dashed and humiliated him.
verb (used without object)
to strike with violence: The waves dashed against the cliff.
to move with violence; rush: The horses dashed out of the burning stable.
noun
a small quantity of anything thrown into or mixed with something else: a dash of salt.
a hasty or sudden movement; a rush or sudden onset: They all made a dash for the door.
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.
the throwing or splashing of liquid against something: the dash of the waves against the dock.
the sound of such splashing: The dash of the waves on the beach could be heard from afar.
spirited action; vigor in action or style; élan: The dancer performed with spirit and dash.
Track. a short race: a 100-yard dash.
dashboard.
Telegraphy. a signal of longer duration than a dot, used in groups of dots, dashes, and spaces to represent letters, as in Morse code.
a hasty stroke, especially of a pen.
Archaic. a violent and rapid blow or stroke.
Verb Phrases
dash off,
to hurry away; leave: I must dash off now.
Also dash down .to write, make, accomplish, etc., hastily: We dashed off a letter to announce the news. He dashed down a memo.
Idioms for dash
cut a dash, to make a striking impression; be ostentatious or showy.
Origin of dash
1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English verb dashen, daishen, dassen “to strike violently (as with a weapon)”; perhaps from Old Norse; compare Danish daske “to slap, flap,” Swedish daska “to slap (with an open hand)”; the noun is derivative of the verb
A riff on a classic tiki cocktail inspired by Vilkhu’s childhood, it combines rum, Campari, fresh lime, falernum, passionfruit liqueur, and homemade roasted mango syrup with a dash of the solution.
Why you should be adding salt to your cocktails|By Céline Bossart/Saveur|September 4, 2020|Popular Science
With only days remaining in this year’s abbreviated session, senators were allowed Friday to vote on the last-minute dash of legislation remotely.
Morning Report: MTS Rejects Many Who Applied for Disabled Fare Reductions|Voice of San Diego|August 31, 2020|Voice of San Diego
So the automation of these processes is where the mad dash is regarding the development of technology.
‘E-commerce is expensive’: How invisible technology and infrastructure overhauls will save retail|Kayleigh Barber|August 31, 2020|Digiday
It hovers over you, dashes briefly into the car, then returns to your face.
The first murder|Katie McLean|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Noses raised to catch the wind, the dogs dash across the tall-grass prairie.
Conservation is going to the dogs|Alison Pearce Stevens|April 2, 2020|Science News For Students
Family crests and nicknames are stitched into headrests, colors are specified for seat stitching, veneers are chosen for the dash.
Behind the Wheel of the Bespoke Bentley|Zoe Settle|October 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Local and foreign fashionistas will fill the front rows at the very last minute and dash out when the music is still on.
Who to See and Where to be Seen: The Hot Tips for New York Fashion Week|Barbara Ragghianti|September 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 2010, Dash filed for divorce from her husband, Emmanuel Xuereb, alleging years of abuse.
‘Clueless’: How the Greatest Clique of the ‘90s Transformed Into A Shakespearean Tragedy|Marlow Stern|May 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Xuereb was ordered to stay 100 yards away from Dash and her two children (neither of whom are his).
‘Clueless’: How the Greatest Clique of the ‘90s Transformed Into A Shakespearean Tragedy|Marlow Stern|May 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He sloshes motor oil over himself, the front seat, and the dash to conceal clues and leaves the car at Cortland Line Company.
The Stacks: The Searing Story of How Murder Stalked a Tiny New York Town|E. Jean Carroll|April 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For the life of me, don't give me a cup of cold water to taste, and then dash it from my lips.
Light O' The Morning|L. T. Meade
I've kept my temper as long as I could; but, dash it all, if you force me to speak out, I will!
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 104, February 25, 1893|Various
There was a dash of bitterness in this, which was a rare ingredient in Mara's conversation.
The Pearl of Orr's Island|Harriet Beecher Stowe
Men behold their boon companions fall, yet onward they dash with closed ranks, themselves the next victims.
Incidents of the War: Humorous, Pathetic, and Descriptive|Alf Burnett
I suppose a blank or a dash rather fends a good many people off—because it always has that effect upon me.
The Letters of Charles Dickens|Charles Dickens
British Dictionary definitions for dash (1 of 3)
dash1
/ (dæʃ) /
verb(mainly tr)
to hurl; crashhe dashed the cup to the floor; the waves dashed against the rocks
to mixwhite paint dashed with blue
(intr)to move hastily or recklessly; rushhe dashed to her rescue
(usually foll by off or down) to write (down) or finish (off) hastily
to destroy; frustratehis hopes were dashed
to daunt (someone); cast down; discouragehe was dashed by her refusal
noun
a sudden quick movement; dart
a small admixturecoffee with a dash of cream
a violent stroke or blow
the sound of splashing or smashingthe dash of the waves
panache; stylehe rides with dash
cut a dash See cut (def. 33)
the punctuation mark —, used singly in place of a colon, esp to indicate a sudden change of subject or grammatical anacoluthon, or in pairs to enclose a parenthetical remark
the symbol (–) used, in combination with the symbol dot (·), in the written representation of Morse and other telegraphic codesCompare dah
athletics another word (esp US and Canadian) for sprint
informal short for dashboard
Word Origin for dash
Middle English dasche, dasse
British Dictionary definitions for dash (2 of 3)
dash2
/ (dæʃ) /
interjection
informal a euphemistic word for damn (def. 1), damn (def. 2)
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.