English dictionary — definitions & meanings

danika

name

A female given name from the Slavic languages, variant of Danica.

Danish

adj

Relating to Denmark, its people, language, or culture.

dank

adj

Unpleasantly damp, cold, and musty, especially of an enclosed space.

danke

interjection

Thank you, in German.

Danko

name

A surname of Slovak origin.

danmark

name

Denmark (a country in Northern Europe).

danna

name

An American surname from French.

Danner

name

A surname.

Danno

name

A nickname for the given name Daniel.

Danny

name

A unisex given name, a diminutive of Daniel or of Danielle and its variants.

Dans

name

A surname.

Danson

name

A surname.

Dante

name

A male given name, popularized in tribute to the medieval Italian poet Dante Alighieri, author of the Divine Comedy.

Danton

verb

Archaic: to intimidate or overpower someone into submission; to cow.

Danube

name

A major river in Europe that runs about 2,850 kilometres from Germany through Central and Eastern Europe to the Black Sea.

Danvers

name

A surname and male given name, also the name of a town in Massachusetts and other places in the United States and Canada.

Danville

name

The name of numerous cities and towns across the United States and Canada, most notably an independent city in Virginia.

Danzig

name

A historical German name for the city of Gdańsk, Poland, used especially in reference to its time under Prussian or German rule.

Danziger

noun

A native or resident of Danzig, the historic name for the city now known as Gdańsk, Poland.

dao

noun

A traditional Chinese single-edged sword with a curved blade, used mainly for slashing and chopping.

dap

noun

A notch cut in one timber to receive another.

Daph

name

A diminutive of the female given name Daphne.

Daphne

name

A female given name, from the Greek myth of a nymph who was transformed into a laurel tree to escape Apollo.

dapper

adj

Neat and stylish in dress and appearance, especially of a man.

dapple

noun

A mottled marking, usually in clusters.

dappled

adj

Having a mottled or spotted skin or coat, dapple.

dar

pron

A nonstandard or dialectal spelling representing "there" in some varieties of English, including African-American Vernacular English.

Dara

name

A unisex given name used in Irish, Persian, and Slavic naming traditions.

daragh

name

A male given name, variant of Dara.

darby

noun

A long-handled tool used to smooth and level a freshly poured concrete surface before it sets.

darcey

name

A commune in Côte-d'Or department, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France.

darci

name

A female given name, variant of Darcy.

darcie

name

A female given name, variant of Darcy.

Darcy

name

A surname of Norman French origin, also used as a given name for both men and women.

dardanian

noun

A native or inhabitant of Dardania.

dare

verb

To have the courage or nerve to do something.

daredevil

noun

A person who takes reckless risks, often for excitement or attention.

dareful

adj

Full of daring or defiance; adventurous.

Daren

name

A male given name, a variant of Darren.

daresay

verb

Used chiefly in the phrase "I daresay" to mean one supposes or thinks something is probably true.

Darfur

name

A region in western Sudan, home to the Fur people and the site of a major humanitarian crisis in the early 2000s.

Daria

name

A female given name of Old Persian origin, the feminine form of Darius.

Darian

name

A modern unisex given name, likely coined from names such as Darius or Dorian.

darien

name

A male given name originating as a coinage, variant of Darian.

Darin

name

A male given name transferred from the surname, a variant of Darren.

daring

adj

Willing to take risks; bold and adventurous.

Dario

name

A male given name and surname, common in Italy and Spain.

Darius

name

The name of several ancient Persian kings of the Achaemenid dynasty, and a male given name derived from it.

Darjeeling

name

A hill town and district in West Bengal, India, famous for the tea grown there.

dark

adj

Having little or no light.

dark horse

noun

A competitor, candidate or contestant who is little known or thought unlikely to win, but who may surprise everyone by succeeding.

darken

verb

To make or become darker in light or color.

darkened

adj

Made darker, either by blocking out light or by fading or dirtying over time.

darkening

noun

The process of becoming darker.

Darker

adj

Comparative form of "dark": having less light, or a deeper, less light shade of colour.

darkfall

noun

The time of day when it becomes dark.

darkling

adv

In the dark; in obscurity.

darkly

adv

In a way that suggests something sinister, ominous, or troubling.

darkness

noun

The absence of light.

Darko

name

A male given name from the Slavic languages.

darkroom

noun

A room kept dark so that photographic film can be developed without being exposed to light.

darksome

adj

Characterized by darkness; gloomy, obscure.

darl

noun

Informal term of address meaning "darling" or "dear", used affectionately, especially in Australian and British English.

Darla

name

A female given name of English origin, a back-formation from Darlene.

darleen

name

A female given name, variant of Darlene.

Darlene

name

A female given name of English origin, a 20th-century coinage combining "darling" with names like Charlene.

darling

noun

A term of affection for someone very dear to the speaker.

Darlington

name

A market town and borough in County Durham, England, also a surname and the name of several places in the United States and Australia.

darn

verb

To mend a hole or worn patch in fabric by weaving thread back and forth across it.

darned

adj

A softened version of "damned," used to express irritation or emphasis.

darnel

noun

Any of the genus Lolium of grasses, especially as a weed in wheat fields.

Darnell

name

A male given name and surname of English origin.

Darnley

name

A suburban area in south-west Glasgow, Scotland.

darragh

name

A male given name, variant of Dara.

Darrah

name

A surname of Irish origin, a variant of Darragh.

Darrell

name

A surname of Old French origin, and a male given name transferred from it.

Darren

noun

Internet slang for a middle-aged man, typically white, who acts with an exaggerated sense of entitlement or throws his weight around over trivial complaints.

Darrin

name

A male given name transferred from the surname, a variant of Darren.

Darrow

name

A surname.

Darryl

name

A male given name transferred from the surname, a variant of Darrell.

dart

noun

A small, pointed missile with a weighted tip and flights, thrown at a target, especially in the pub game of darts.

Darth

noun

A title placed before the name of a villainous or menacing figure, echoing the Star Wars practice of calling Sith Lords "Darth."

darting

adj

Moving with quick, sudden bursts of motion.

Dartmoor

noun

A hardy, compact breed of pony native to the moorland of Devon, England.

Dartmouth

name

A port town in Devon, England, at the mouth of the River Dart; also the name of Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and towns in Nova Scotia, Massachusetts, and Australia.

darts

noun

A game in which players throw small pointed missiles at a circular target to score points.

darwin

noun

A unit used in evolutionary biology to measure the rate of change in a trait over time.

Darwinian

adj

Relating to Charles Darwin's theory that species evolve through natural selection.

darwinism

noun

Charles Darwin's theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection (set out chiefly in his works On the Origin of Species, 1859; and The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, 1871); also, belief in this theory.

Daryl

name

A unisex given name transferred from the surname, a variant of Darrell.

Das

name

A surname of Bengali origin.

dasein

noun

Being; especially the nature of being; existence, presence, hereness, suchness, essence

dash

verb

To run or move quickly, usually for a short distance.

dasha

noun

In Hindu astrology, any of the planetary time-periods believed to shape a person’s fortune depending on which planet rules that period and how it is placed.

dashboard

noun

The panel in front of the driver in a car, holding gauges and controls.

dashed

adj

Made of a series of short lines with gaps between them.

dasheen

noun

Old cocoyam; the edible starchy yellow tuber of the taro plant.

dasher

noun

Someone or something that dashes, especially a fast runner.

dashi

noun

A type of soup or cooking stock, often made from kelp.

dashing

adj

Stylish and attractive in a bold, confident way.

dashu

name

A district of Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Dashwood

name

An English surname.

dass

verb

An archaic or dialectal word meaning to dare.

dastardly

adj

Cowardly and treacherous, especially in a sneaky or underhanded way.

dat

det

Pronunciation spelling of that.

Data

noun

Facts, figures, or other information, especially when collected for analysis or used by a computer.

data breach

noun

An incident in which private information held by an organisation is seen, copied or taken by someone with no right to it, whether through an attack, a misconfigured system or a mistake by staff.

database

noun

An organised collection of data stored and accessed electronically.

date

noun

A specific point in time, usually given as a day, month, and year.

datebook

noun

A book in which appointments are kept, each listed beside the day when it occurs.

dated

adj

No longer fashionable or up to date; feeling old-fashioned.

dateline

noun

The line at the start of a news story or document that gives the place and date it was written or filed.

dating

noun

Going out with someone to see if you might be romantically compatible, before committing to a relationship.

Dato

name

A surname of Italian and Spanish origin, most commonly found today in the Philippines.

datum

noun

Something known or assumed as fact, and is made the basis of reasoning or inference which an intellectual system of any sort (such as knowledge or theoretical framework) is constructed.

daub

noun

Excrement or clay used as a bonding material in construction.

daughter

noun

A person's female child.

daunt

verb

To discourage, intimidate.

daunting

adj

Making someone feel intimidated or discouraged because a task looks so difficult or big.

dauntless

adj

Not afraid of anything; bold and unshakeable in the face of danger or difficulty.

dauphin

noun

Historically, the title given to the eldest son and heir of the King of France.

dauphine

noun

The wife of the dauphin; dauphiness.

Dave

noun

A common short form of the male given name David.

Davenport

noun

A large, comfortable sofa, especially one meant for a formal sitting room.

Davey

name

A masculine given name and surname, a diminutive form of David.

David

name

The second king of Israel and Judah in the Hebrew Bible, remembered for defeating Goliath and for his descendant Solomon.

Davidson

name

A surname meaning "son of David."

Davie

name

A masculine given name, a diminutive form of David, common in Scotland.

Davies

name

A Welsh surname meaning "son of David."

Davina

name

A feminine given name, a variant of Davina derived from David.

Davison

name

A surname meaning "son of David."

davo

name

A diminutive of the male given name David.

Davos

noun

The annual World Economic Forum meeting of business leaders, politicians, and economists, named after the Swiss town where it takes place.

Davy

noun

Short for Davy lamp, a miner’s safety lamp designed to burn without igniting flammable gases underground.

dawdle

verb

To move slowly or take much longer than necessary, often because of a lack of urgency.

dawdler

noun

A person who dawdles or idles.

Dawes

name

An English surname derived from the given name Daw, a medieval short form of David.

dawg

noun

Pronunciation spelling of dog.

Dawkins

name

An English surname, a patronymic meaning "son of Daw" (a form of David).

dawn

noun

The time of day when light first appears in the sky before the sun rises.

dawning

noun

The very beginning or first signs of something starting to happen or be understood.

Dax

name

A masculine given name of French origin, also the name of a spa town in southwestern France.

day

noun

The 24-hour period during which the Earth completes one rotation, from one midnight to the next.

Daya

name

A unisex given name of Sanskrit origin, meaning "compassion" or "kindness."

Dayal

name

An Indian given name and surname of Sanskrit origin, meaning "kind" or "merciful."

daybed

noun

A couch that can be used as a sofa by day and a bed by night.

daybook

noun

A daily chronicle; a diary.

daybreak

noun

The moment in the morning when daylight first appears.

daycare

noun

Supervised care for children (or sometimes pets) during working hours, provided by someone other than a parent.

daydream

noun

A pleasant chain of thoughts or fantasies that drift through your mind while you're awake, disconnected from what's actually happening around you.