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Dash vs Dab - What's the difference?

dash | dab | Related terms |

In transitive terms the difference between dash and dab

is that dash is to complete hastily, usually with down or off while dab is to apply a substance in this way.

As nouns the difference between dash and dab

is that dash is any of the following symbols: ‒ (figure dash), – (en dash), — (em dash), or ― (horizontal bar) while dab is a soft tap or blow; a blow or peck from a bird's beak; an aimed blow.

As verbs the difference between dash and dab

is that dash is to run quickly or for a short distance while dab is to press lightly in a repetitive motion with a soft object without rubbing.

As an interjection dash

is damn.

As an adverb dab is

with a dab, or sudden contact.

As an initialism DAB is

digital audio broadcasting.

dash

English

Noun

(es)
  • (typography) Any of the following symbols: (''horizontal bar ).
    • sometimes dash'' is also used colloquially to refer to a ''hyphen'' or ''minus sign .
  • A short run.
  • A small quantity of a liquid substance; less than 1/8 of a teaspoon.
    • Add a dash of vinegar
  • Vigor.
    • Aren't we full of dash this morning?
  • A dashboard.
  • * 1955 , edition, ISBN 0553249592, page 31:
    • The dash clock said 2:38 when.
  • One of the two symbols of Morse code.
  • (Nigeria) A bribe or gratuity.
  • * 1992 , George B. N. Ayittey, Africa betrayed (page 44)
    • The traditional practice of offering gifts or "dash " to chiefs has often been misinterpreted by scholars to provide a cultural explanation for the pervasive incidence of bribery and corruption in modern Africa.
  • * 2006 , Adiele Eberechukwu Afigbo, The Abolition of the Slave Trade in Southeastern Nigeria, 1885-1950 (page 99)
    • Writing in 1924 on a similar situation in Ugep, the political officer, Mr. S. T. Harvey noted: "In the old days there was no specified dowry but merely dashes given to the father-in-law
  • * 2008 , Lizzie Williams, Nigeria: The Bradt Travel Guide (page 84)
    • The only other times you'll be asked for a dash is from beggars.
  • (obsolete, euphemistic) A stand-in for a censored word, like "Devil" or "damn". (Compare deuce.)
  • * 1824 , "Kiddywinkle History, No. II", Blackwood's Magazine (15, May 1824) p. 540
    • I'll be dashed if I gan another step for less 'an oaf.
  • * 1853 , (William Makepeace Thackery), (The Newcomes)'', Chapter VI, serialized in ''Harper's New Monthly Magazine , (VIII, no. 43, Dec 1853) p. 118
    • Sir Thomas looks as if to ask what the dash is that to you! but wanting still to go to India again, and knowing how strong the Newcomes are in Leadenhall Street, he thinks it necessary to be civil to the young cub, and swallows his pride once more into his waistband.
  • *:Comment : Some editions leave this passage out. Of those that include it, some change the 'you!' to 'you?'.
  • * 1884 , (Lord Robert Gower), My Reminiscences'', reprinted in "The Evening Lamp", ''The Christian Union , (29) 22, (May 29, 1884) p. 524
    • Who the dash' is this person whom none of us know? and what the ' dash does he do here?
  • * 1939 , , (Uncle Fred in the Springtime) Chapter 8
    • I'll be dashed if I squash in with any domestic staff.

    Hyponyms

    * See also

    Hypernyms

    * punctuation mark

    Derived terms

    * dashing * dash off * em dash, en dash

    See also

    (punctuation)

    Verb

    (es)
  • To run quickly or for a short distance.
    • He dashed across the field.
  • (informal) To leave or depart.
    • I have to dash now. See you soon.
  • To destroy by striking (against).
    • He dashed the bottle against the bar and turned about to fight.
  • * 1897 , (Bram Stoker), (Dracula) Chapter 21
    • "`Silence! If you make a sound I shall take him and dash his brains out before your very eyes.'
  • * 1912 : (Edgar Rice Burroughs), (Tarzan of the Apes), Chapter 4
    • Kala was the youngest mate of a male called Tublat, meaning broken nose, and the child she had seen dashed to death was her first; for she was but nine or ten years old.
  • To throw violently.
    • The man was dashed from the vehicle during the accident.
  • * Francis Bacon
    • If you dash a stone against a stone in the bottom of the water, it maketh a sound.
  • To sprinkle; to splatter.
  • * Thomson
    • On each hand the gushing waters play, / And down the rough cascade all dashing fall.
  • (of hopes or dreams) To ruin; to destroy.
    • Her hopes were dashed when she saw the damage.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=September 13 , author=Sam Lyon , title=Borussia Dortmund 1 - 1 Arsenal , work=BBC citation , page= , passage=Arsenal's hopes of starting their Champions League campaign with an away win were dashed when substitute Ivan Perisic's superb late volley rescued a point for Borussia Dortmund.}}
  • To dishearten; to sadden.
    • Her thoughts were dashed to melancholy.
  • To complete hastily, usually with down'' or ''off .
    • He dashed''' down his eggs'', ''she '''dashed off her homework
  • To draw quickly; jot.
  • * 1922 , (Virginia Woolf), (w, Jacob's Room) Chapter 1
    • "Scarborough," Mrs. Flanders wrote on the envelope, and dashed a bold line beneath; it was her native town; the hub of the universe.
  • 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.
    • to dash''' wine with water; to '''dash paint upon a picture
  • * Addison
    • I take care to dash the character with such particular circumstance as may prevent ill-natured applications.
  • * Tennyson
    • The very source and fount of day / Is dashed with wandering isles of night.

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • (euphemistic) Damn!

    • See also

    * hyphen * minus sign

    Anagrams

    * * * ----

    dab

    English

    (wikipedia dab)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) .

    Verb

    (dabb)
  • To press lightly in a repetitive motion with a soft object without rubbing.
    • I dabbed my face with a towel.
  • * S. Sharp
    • A sore should only by dabbing it over with fine lint.
  • To apply a substance in this way.
    • He dabbed moisturizing liquid on his face.
  • To strike by a thrust; to hit with a sudden blow or thrust.
  • * Sir T. More
    • to dab him in the neck
  • To apply

    • Noun

    (en noun)
  • A soft tap or blow; a blow or peck from a bird's beak; an aimed blow.
  • *
  • *
  • (AAVE) A soft, playful given in greeting or approval.
  • *
  • *
  • *
    • page 197: I step closer to Profit and draw in a deep, steadying breath while the brothers exchange dabs . “What's up, fam? I see you finally made it.”
  • A small amount, a blob of some soft or wet substance.
  • (chiefly, in the plural, dated, British) Fingerprint.
  • A small amount of .
    • Coordinate terms
    * fistbump, high five
    Related terms
    * dob

    Adverb

    (-)
  • With a dab, or sudden contact.

    • Etymology 2

    Perhaps corrupted from adept.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One skilful or proficient; an expert; an adept.
  • * Goldsmith
    • One excels at a plan or the title page, another works away at the body of the book, and the third is a dab at an index.
    Synonyms
    * See also
    Derived terms
    * dab hand

    Etymology 3

    Origin unknown.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A small flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae, especially ? a flounder.
  • (US) A sand dab, a small flatfish of genus .

    • References

    * Oxford English Dictionary (1989)

    Anagrams

    * ----