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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

dash.

Any of the following symbols: ‒ (figure dash), – (en dash), — (em dash), or ― (horizontal bar).

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈdæʃ/Australia, General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈdaʃ/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/ˈdɛʃ/New-Zealand/ˈdɛəʃ/
  1. Any of the following symbols: ‒ (figure dash), – (en dash), — (em dash), or ― (horizontal bar).

    countable · uncountable
  2. Any of the following symbols: ‒ (figure dash), – (en dash), — (em dash), or ― (horizontal bar). A hyphen or minus sign.

    countable · uncountable
  3. The longer of the two symbols of Morse code.

    broadly · countable · uncountable
  4. A short run, flight.

    countable · uncountable
    When the feds came they did the dash.
  5. A rushing or violent onset.

    countable · uncountable
  6. Violent strike; a whack.

    countable · uncountable
  7. A small quantity of a liquid substance etc.; less than 1/8 of a teaspoon.

    countable · uncountable
    Add a dash of vinegar.
  8. A slight admixture.

    broadly · countable · figuratively · uncountable
    There is a dash of craziness in his personality.
  9. Ostentatious vigor.

    uncountable
    Aren't we full of dash this morning?
  10. A bribe or gratuity; a gift.

    Nigeria · countable · uncountable
  11. A stand-in for a censored word, like "Devil" or "damn". (Compare deuce.)

    countable · dated · euphemistic · uncountable
  12. Ellipsis of dashboard.

    abbreviation · alt-of · countable · ellipsis · uncountable
  13. Ellipsis of dashboard. The dashboard of a social media user.

    Internet · countable · informal · uncountable
  14. A prime symbol.

    India · UK · countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English daschen, dassen, from Danish daske (“to slap, strike”), related to Swedish daska (“to smack, slap, spank”), of obscure origin. Compare German tatschen (“to grope, paw”), Old English dwǣsċan (“to quell, put out, destroy, extinguish”). See also dush.

verb/ˈdæʃ/Australia, General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈdaʃ/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/ˈdɛʃ/New-Zealand/ˈdɛəʃ/
  1. To run quickly or for a short distance.

    intransitive
    He dashed across the field.
  2. To leave or depart.

    informal · intransitive
    I have to dash now. See you soon.
  3. To destroy by striking (against).

    transitive
    He dashed the bottle against the bar and turned about to fight.
  4. To throw violently.

    transitive
    The man was dashed from the vehicle during the accident.
  5. To sprinkle; to splatter.

    ambitransitive · figuratively · sometimes
  6. To mix, reduce, or adulterate, by throwing in something of an inferior quality.

    dated · transitive
    to dash wine with water
  7. To ruin; to destroy.

    transitive
    Her hopes were dashed when she saw the damage.
  8. To dishearten; to sadden.

    transitive
    Her thoughts were dashed to melancholy.
  9. To complete hastily.

    transitive
    He dashed down his eggs.
    She dashed off her homework.
  10. To draw or write quickly; jot.

    transitive
  11. Damn (in forming oaths).

    dated · euphemistic · transitive
    Dash his impudence! Who is that scoundrel?
Where this word comes from

From Middle English daschen, dassen, from Danish daske (“to slap, strike”), related to Swedish daska (“to smack, slap, spank”), of obscure origin. Compare German tatschen (“to grope, paw”), Old English dwǣsċan (“to quell, put out, destroy, extinguish”). See also dush.

intj/ˈdæʃ/Australia, General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈdaʃ/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/ˈdɛʃ/New-Zealand/ˈdɛəʃ/
  1. Damn!

    euphemistic
Where this word comes from

From Middle English daschen, dassen, from Danish daske (“to slap, strike”), related to Swedish daska (“to smack, slap, spank”), of obscure origin. Compare German tatschen (“to grope, paw”), Old English dwǣsċan (“to quell, put out, destroy, extinguish”). See also dush.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.