3 N‑COUNT A dash of something is a small quantity of it which you add when you are preparing food or mixing a drink. □ [+ of ] Add a dash of balsamic vinegar.
4 N‑COUNT A dash of a quality is a small amount of it that is found in something and often makes it more interesting or distinctive. □ [+ of ] …a story with a dash of mystery thrown in.
5 VERB If you dash something against a wall or other surface, you throw or push it violently, often so hard that it breaks. [LITERARY ] □ [V n + against ] She seized the doll and dashed it against the stone wall with tremendous force. [Also V n prep]
6 VERB If an event or person dashes someone's hopes or expectations, it destroys them by making it impossible that the thing that is hoped for or expected will ever happen. [JOURNALISM , LITERARY ] □ [V n] The announcement dashed hopes of an early end to the crisis. □ [have n V -ed] They had their championship hopes dashed by a 3–1 defeat.
7 N‑COUNT A dash is a straight, horizontal line used in writing, for example to separate two main clauses whose meanings are closely connected.
8 N‑COUNT The dash of a car is its dashboard .
9 PHRASE If you make a dash for a place, you run there very quickly, for example to escape from someone or something. □ I made a dash for the front door but he got there before me.
▸ dash off
1 PHRASAL VERB If you dash off to a place, you go there very quickly. □ [V P + to ] He dashed off to lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe.
2 PHRASAL VERB If you dash off a piece of writing, you write or compose it very quickly, without thinking about it very much. □ [V P n] He dashed off a couple of novels.
dash|board /dæ ʃbɔː r d/ (dashboards ) N‑COUNT The dashboard in a car is the panel facing the driver's seat where most of the instruments and switches are.
dash|ing /dæ ʃ I ŋ/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] A dashing person or thing is very stylish and attractive. [OLD-FASHIONED ] □ He was the very model of the dashing RAF pilot.
das|tard|ly /dæ stə r dli/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] If you describe an action as dastardly , you mean it is wicked and intended to hurt someone. [OLD-FASHIONED ]
2 ADJ [ADJ n] If you describe a person as dastardly , you mean they are wicked. [OLD-FASHIONED ]
DAT /dæ t/ N‑UNCOUNT DAT is a type of magnetic tape used to make very high quality recordings of sound by recording it in digital form. DAT is an abbreviation for 'digital audio tape'.
da|ta ◆◆◇ /de I tə/
1 N‑UNCOUNT ; N‑PLURAL You can refer to information as data , especially when it is in the form of facts or statistics that you can analyse. In American English, data is usually a plural noun. In technical or formal British English, data is sometimes a plural noun, but at other times, it is an uncount noun. □ The study was based on data from 2,100 women. □ To cope with these data, hospitals bought large mainframe computers.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Data is information that can be stored and used by a computer program. [COMPUTING ] □ No important data is stored on the devices. SYNONYMS data NOUN 1
facts: His opponent swamped him with facts and figures.
figures: New Government figures predict that one in two marriages will end in divorce.
statistics: Official statistics show real wages declining by 24%.
da |ta bank (data banks ) also databank N‑COUNT A data bank is the same as a database .
data|base /de I təbe I s/ (databases ) also data base N‑COUNT A database is a collection of data that is stored in a computer and that can easily be used and added to. □ They maintain a database of hotels that cater for businesswomen.
da |ta min|ing N‑UNCOUNT Data mining involves collecting information from data stored in a database, for example in order to find out about people's shopping habits. [COMPUTING ] □ Data mining is used to analyse individuals' buying habits.
da |ta pro |cess|ing N‑UNCOUNT Data processing is the series of operations that are carried out on data, especially by computers, in order to present, interpret, or obtain information. □ Taylor's company makes data-processing systems.
date ◆◆◇ /de I t/ (dates , dating , dated )
1 N‑COUNT A date is a specific time that can be named, for example a particular day or a particular year. □ What's the date today? □ You will need to give the dates you wish to stay and the number of rooms you require.
2 VERB If you date something, you give or discover the date when it was made or when it began. □ [V n] I think we can date the decline of Western Civilization quite precisely. □ [V n + to ] Archaeologists have dated the fort to the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius.
3 VERB When you date something such as a letter or a cheque, you write that day's date on it. □ [V n] Once the decision is reached, he can date and sign the sheet. □ [V -ed] The letter is dated 2 July 1993.
4 N‑SING [at N ] If you want to refer to an event without saying exactly when it will happen or when it happened, you can say that it will happen or happened at some date in the future or past. □ Retain copies of all correspondence, since you may need them at a later date.
5 PHRASE To date means up until the present time. □ 'Dottie' is by far his best novel to date.
6 VERB If something dates , it goes out of fashion and becomes unacceptable to modern tastes. □ [V ] A black coat always looks smart and will never date.