What do dashes mean

Compare hyphen. You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics: Specific signs and symbols. C2 a small amount of something, especially liquid food , that is added to something else :. Add some butter and a dash of salt. Words meaning small pieces and amounts. Skill, talent and ability. Grammar Punctuation.

Punctuation: dashes — and other punctuation marks. Oh dash it! I've left my umbrella in the office. Expressions of anger. She dashed to the store for some juice. Add a dash of salt to the mixture. We made a dash for the plane. Translations of dash in Chinese Traditional. See more. Need a translator? Translator tool. What is the pronunciation of dash?

Browse darting. Dartmoor National Park. Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes. Image credits. Word of the Day have a heart of gold. Blog Outsets and onsets! Dashes are often used informally instead of commas, colons and brackets. A dash may or may not have a space on either side of it. Do not confuse a dash — with a hyphen - , which is shorter. However, the difference between them is rather technical and mainly of value to typographers.

The dash is a convenient and easy mark to use in hand-writing. But it is often difficult to find on a keyboard and for this reason some people use the easier-to-find but shorter hyphen - when word-processing.

EnglishClub : Learn English : Writing : Punctuation : Dash Dash A dash is a horizontal line that shows a pause or break in meaning, or that represents missing words or letters. Use a dash to show a pause or break in meaning in the middle of a sentence: My brothers—Richard and John—are visiting Hanoi.

Send us feedback. Middle English dasshen , probably from Middle French dachier to impel forward. See more words from the same century. Accessed 12 Nov. English Language Learners Definition of dash Entry 2 of 2. See the full definition for dash in the English Language Learners Dictionary.

Nglish: Translation of dash for Spanish Speakers. Britannica English: Translation of dash for Arabic Speakers. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Log in Sign Up.

Save Word. Definition of dash Entry 1 of 2. Definition of dash Entry 2 of 2. Examples of dash in a Sentence Verb I'm sorry, but I must dash. I'm late. She dashed down the hallway to the bathroom.