dal /dɑː l/ (dals ) also dhal N‑VAR Dal is an Indian dish made from pulses such as chick peas or lentils.
dale /de I l/ (dales ) N‑COUNT A dale is a valley. [BRIT ]
dal|li|ance /dæ liəns/ (dalliances )
1 N‑VAR If two people have a brief romantic relationship, you can say that they have a dalliance with each other, especially if they do not take it seriously. [OLD-FASHIONED ]
2 N‑COUNT [oft poss N ] Someone's dalliance with something is a brief involvement with it. [OLD-FASHIONED ] □ [+ with ] …my brief dalliance with higher education.
dal|ly /dæ li/ (dallies , dallying , dallied )
1 VERB If you dally , you act or move very slowly, wasting time. [OLD-FASHIONED ] □ [V ] The bureaucrats dallied too long. □ [V + over ] He did not dally over the choice of a partner. [Also V + with ]
2 VERB If someone dallies with you, they have a romantic, but not serious, relationship with you. [OLD-FASHIONED ] □ [V + with ] In the past he dallied with actresses and lady novelists.
Dal|ma|tian /dælme I ʃ ə n/ (Dalmatians ) N‑COUNT A Dalmatian is a large dog with short, smooth, white hair and black or dark brown spots.
dam /dæ m/ (dams , damming , dammed )
1 N‑COUNT A dam is a wall that is built across a river in order to stop the water flowing and to make a lake. □ …plans to build a dam on the Danube River.
2 VERB To dam a river means to build a dam across it. □ [V n] …plans to dam the nearby Delaware River.
dam|age ◆◆◇ /dæ m I dʒ/ (damages , damaging , damaged )
1 VERB To damage an object means to break it, spoil it physically, or stop it from working properly. □ [V n] He maliciously damaged a car with a baseball bat. □ [V n] The sun can damage your skin.
2 VERB To damage something means to cause it to become less good, pleasant, or successful. □ [V n] Jackson doesn't want to damage his reputation as a political personality. ● dam|ag|ing ADJ □ [+ to ] Is the recycling process in itself damaging to the environment?
3 N‑UNCOUNT Damage is physical harm that is caused to an object. □ [+ to ] The blast caused extensive damage to the house. □ Many professional boxers end their careers with brain damage.
4 N‑UNCOUNT Damage consists of the unpleasant effects that something has on a person, situation, or type of activity. □ [+ to ] Incidents of this type cause irreparable damage to relations with the community.
5 N‑PLURAL If a court of law awards damages to someone, it orders money to be paid to them by a person who has damaged their reputation or property, or who has injured them. □ He was vindicated in court and damages were awarded. SYNONYMS damage VERB
1
smash: Someone smashed a bottle.
harm: …a warning that the product may harm the environment.
ruin: Roads and bridges have been destroyed and crops ruined.
devastate: A few days before, a fire had devastated large parts of Windsor Castle.
wreck: He wrecked the garden.
2
spoiclass="underline" It's important not to let mistakes spoil your life.
ruin: My wife was ruining her health through worry.
mar: That election was marred by massive cheating.
wreck: His life has been wrecked by the tragedy.
da m|age limi|ta |tion N‑UNCOUNT Damage limitation is action that is taken to make the bad results of something as small as possible, when it is impossible to avoid bad results completely. [BRIT ] □ The meeting was merely an exercise in damage limitation. in AM, use damage control
dam|ask /dæ məsk/ (damasks ) N‑VAR Damask is a type of heavy cloth with a pattern woven into it.
dame /de I m/ (dames )
1 N‑TITLE Dame is a title given to a woman as a special honour because of important service or work that she has done. [BRIT ] □ …Dame Judi Dench.
2 N‑COUNT A dame is a woman. This use could cause offence. [AM , INFORMAL , OLD-FASHIONED ] □ Who does that dame think she is?
dam|mit /dæ m I t/ → see damn
damn /dæ m/ (damns , damning , damned )
1 EXCLAM Damn , damn it , and dammit are used by some people to express anger or impatience. [INFORMAL , RUDE , FEELINGS ] □ Don't be flippant, damn it! This is serious.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Damn is used by some people to emphasize what they are saying. [INFORMAL , RUDE , EMPHASIS ] □ There's not a damn thing you can do about it now. ● ADV [ADV adj/adv] Damn is also an adverb. □ As it turned out, I was damn right.
3 VERB If you say that a person or a news report damns something such as a policy or action, you mean that they are very critical of it. □ [V n] …a sensational book in which she damns the ultra-right party.
4 → see also damned , damning
5 PHRASE If you say that someone does not give a damn about something, you are emphasizing that they do not care about it at all. [INFORMAL , RUDE , EMPHASIS ]
6 PHRASE Some people say as near as damn it or as near as dammit to emphasize that what they have said is almost completely accurate, but not quite. [BRIT , INFORMAL , RUDE , EMPHASIS ] □ It's as near as damn it the same thing.