to (cause to) strike or smash violently, esp. so as to break to pieces: [ ~ + obj]:The waves dashed the boat to pieces.[no obj]:The waves dashed against the shore.
[ ~ + obj] to throw violently or suddenly:dashed a plate against a wall in a fit of rage.
[ ~ + obj] to apply roughly, as by splashing; splatter:to dash paint on a wall.
[ ~ + obj] to ruin, destroy, or frustrate:The rain dashed our hopes for a picnic.
[no obj] to move with great speed; rush:to dash around the corner.
dash off:
[no obj] to hurry away; leave:She dashed off before I could talk to her.
Also, dash down.to write, make, accomplish, etc., too quickly or hastily: [ ~ + off + obj ]:to dash off a letter.[ ~ + obj + off ]:to dash it off in a hurry.
a small quantity of anything mixed with something else:a dash of salt.
a hasty or sudden movement; a rush:to make a mad dash for the door.
Sporta short race:the 100-yard dash.
a mark or sign (—), used variously in printed or written matter, esp. to note a break, pause, or hesitation, and to separate elements of a sentence or series of sentences, such as a question from its answer.
to strike or smash violently, esp. 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.
v.i.
to strike with violence:The waves dashed against the cliff.
to move with violence; rush:The horses dashed out of the burning stable.
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.
n.
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; élan; vigor in action or style:The dancer performed with spirit and dash.
[Track.]a short race:a 100-yard dash.
Automotivedashboard (def. 1).
Telecommunicationsa 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, esp. of a pen.
[Archaic.]a violent and rapid blow or stroke.
Idiomscut a dash, to make a striking impression; be ostentatious or showy.
Old Norse; compare Danish daske slap, flap, Swedish daska; (noun, nominal) Middle English: blow, clash, derivative of the verb, verbal
(verb, verbal) Middle English dasshen, perh. 1250–1300
10. dart, bolt. See rush1. 12. pinch, bit; touch.
dash2(dash),USA pronunciationv.t.[Chiefly Brit.]
British Termsto damn (usually used interjectionally).
euphemism based on d—n, printed form of damn 1790–1800
dash3(dash),USA pronunciation(in West Africa) n.
a tip, bribe, or recompense.
bribery.
v.t.
to give a tip or bribe to (esp. a government employee).
Portuguese das (you) give (2d singular present indicative of dar to give)
1780–1790; perh. first recorded in Dutch as dache, dasche (1602); origin, originally uncertain, but often alleged to be
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 codes