4 VERB If a pilot ditches an aircraft or if it ditches , the pilot makes an emergency landing. □ [V n] One American pilot was forced to ditch his jet in the Gulf. □ [V ] A survivor was knocked unconscious when the helicopter ditched.
5 → see also last-ditch
dith|er /d I ðə r / (dithers , dithering , dithered ) VERB When someone dithers , they hesitate because they are unable to make a quick decision about something. □ [V + over ] We're still dithering over whether to marry. □ [V + about ] If you have been dithering about buying shares, now could be the time to do it. [Also V ]
dit|to /d I toʊ/ In informal English, you can use ditto to represent a word or phrase that you have just used in order to avoid repeating it. In written lists, ditto can be represented by ditto marks – the symbol " – underneath the word that you want to repeat. □ Lister's dead. Ditto three Miami drug dealers and a lady.
dit|ty /d I ti/ (ditties ) N‑COUNT A ditty is a short or light-hearted song or poem. [HUMOROUS or WRITTEN ]
dit|zy /d I tsi/ (ditzier , ditziest ) also ditsy ADJ A ditzy person is silly and not very organized. [INFORMAL ] □ I sounded like a ditzy blonde!
di|uret|ic /da I əre t I k/ (diuretics ) N‑COUNT A diuretic is a substance which makes your body increase its production of waste fluids, with the result that you need to urinate more often than usual. [MEDICAL or TECHNICAL ] □ Alcohol acts as a diuretic, making you even more dehydrated. ● ADJ Diuretic is also an adjective. □ Many remedies effective in joint disease are primarily diuretic.
di|ur|nal /da I ɜː r n ə l/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Diurnal means happening or active during the daytime. [FORMAL ] □ Kangaroos are diurnal animals.
diva /diː və/ (divas ) N‑COUNT You can refer to a successful and famous female opera singer as a diva .
di|van /d I væ n, [AM ] da I væn/ (divans )
1 N‑COUNT A divan or divan bed is a bed that has a thick base under the mattress. [BRIT ]
2 N‑COUNT A divan is a long soft seat that has no back or arms.
dive /da I v/ (dives , diving , dived ) American English sometimes uses the form dove , pronounced /doʊ v/, for the past tense. 1 VERB If you dive into some water, you jump in head-first with your arms held straight above your head. □ [V + into ] He tried to escape by diving into a river. □ She was standing by a pool, about to dive in. □ [V ] Joanne had just learnt to dive. ● N‑COUNT Dive is also a noun. □ Pat had earlier made a dive of 80 feet from the Chasm Bridge.
2 VERB If you dive , you go under the surface of the sea or a lake, using special breathing equipment. □ [V ] Bezanik is diving to collect marine organisms. ● N‑COUNT Dive is also a noun. □ This sighting occurred during my dive to a sunken wreck off Sardinia.
3 VERB When birds and animals dive , they go quickly downwards, head-first, through the air or through water. □ [V ] …a pelican which had just dived for a fish.
4 VERB If an aeroplane dives , it flies or drops down quickly and suddenly. □ [V prep/adv] He was killed when his monoplane stalled and dived into the ground. [Also V ] ● N‑COUNT Dive is also a noun. □ Witnesses said the plane failed to pull out of a dive and smashed down in a field.
5 VERB If you dive in a particular direction or into a particular place, you jump or move there quickly. □ [V prep/adv] They dived into a taxi. ● N‑COUNT Dive is also a noun. □ He made a sudden dive for Uncle Jim's legs to try to trip him up.
6 VERB If you dive into a bag or container, you put your hands into it quickly in order to get something out. □ [V + into ] She dived into her bag and brought out a folded piece of paper.
7 VERB If shares, profits, or figures dive , their value falls suddenly and by a large amount. [JOURNALISM ] □ [V ] If we cut interest rates, the pound would dive. □ [V + from/to/by ] Profits have dived from £7.7m to £7.1m. □ [V amount] The shares dived 22p to 338p. ● N‑COUNT Dive is also a noun. □ Stock prices took a dive.
8 N‑COUNT If you describe a bar or club as a dive , you mean it is dirty and dark, and not very respectable. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ]
di ve-bomb (dive-bombs , dive-bombing , dive-bombed ) VERB If a plane dive-bombs an area, it suddenly flies down low over it to drop bombs onto it. □ [V n] The Russians had to dive-bomb the cities to regain control. [Also V ]
di ve bomb|er (dive bombers ) also dive-bomber N‑COUNT You can refer to a plane that flies down low over a place in order to drop bombs on it as a dive bomber . □ The port had been attacked by German dive bombers for the past five days.
div|er /da I və r / (divers ) N‑COUNT A diver is a person who swims under water using special breathing equipment.
di|verge /da I vɜː r dʒ, [AM ] d I -/ (diverges , diverging , diverged )
1 VERB If one thing diverges from another similar thing, the first thing becomes different from the second or develops differently from it. You can also say that two things diverge . □ [V + from ] His interests increasingly diverged from those of his colleagues. □ [V ] When the aims of the partners begin to diverge, there's trouble.