dash

dash

I

dash¹ /dæʃ/ verb1. [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to go or run somewhere very quickly:
    Olive dashed into the room, grabbed her bag, and ran out again.
2. dash sb’s hopes to disappoint someone by telling them that what they want is not possible:
    Hopkins’ hopes were dashed when his appeal was denied.
3. (I) must dash/(I) have to dash British English spoken used to tell someone that you must leave quickly:
    Anyway, I must dash – I said I’d meet Daniel at eight.
4. [intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition] written to throw or push something violently against something, especially so that it breaks
    dash something against/on something
    The ship was dashed against the rocks.
    dash against
    Waves were dashing against the sea wall.
5. dash it (all)! British English old-fashioned used to show that you are slightly annoyed or angry about something
     
dash off phrasal verb
  1. to leave somewhere very quickly:
    Harry dashed off before she had a chance to thank him.
  2. dash something ↔ off to write or draw something very quickly:
    She dashed off a quick letter.

II

dash² noun
1.  SMALL AMOUNT  [singular]
  a. a small amount of a substance that is added to something else
    dash of
    Add salt, pepper and a dash of vinegar.
  b. a small amount of a quality that is added to something else
    dash of
    Add a dash of romance to your life with a trip to Paris.
2.  RUN QUICKLY  [countable usually singular] an occasion when someone runs somewhere very quickly in order to get away from something or someone, or in order to reach them
    make a dash for something
    He made a dash for the door.
    The prisoners made a dash for freedom.
    It’s pouring with rain – we’ll have to make a dash for it.
    When the alarm went there was a mad dash for the exit.
3.  LINE  [countable] a line \< – \> used in writing to separate two closely related parts of a sentence, as for example, in the sentence ‘Go home – they’re waiting for you.’
4.  SOUND  [countable] a long sound or flash of light used for sending messages in Morse code ⇨ dot
5.  CAR  [countable] American English a dashboard
6.  STYLE  [uncountable] old-fashioned style, energy, and courage in someone such as a soldier
7. cut a dash old-fashioned to look very impressive and attractive in particular clothes:
    With her new image, she’ll certainly cut a dash on her holiday cruise.
     

COLLOCATIONS

(for Meaning 2)

■ verbs
   ▪ make a dash for something The rain had almost stopped so we decided to make a dash for home.
   ▪ make a dash for it (=run very quickly to escape or to reach a place) He turned and made a dash for it but the police officer caught him.
■ adjectives
   ▪ a quick dash Have I got time to make a quick dash to the shops?
   ▪ a sudden dash He made a sudden dash for the door.
   ▪ a mad/frantic dash (=very fast, usually because you are worried about something) ‘Something’s burning’, she said, making a mad dash for the kitchen.
   ▪ a headlong dash (=without looking where you are going) I made a headlong dash up the street but just missed the bus.
   ▪ a last-minute dash (=very fast, because you have very little time remaining) We only just caught our plane, after a last-minute dash to the airport.
     

THESAURUS

■ types of punctuation mark
   ▪ apostrophe the sign ' that is used to show that one or more letters or numbers have been left out, as in don’t, or used before ‘s’ to show that something belongs to someone or something, as in Mark’s dog
   ▪ brackets British English, parentheses AmE and BrE formal a pair of signs used for enclosing information that interrupts a sentence
   ▪ colon the sign : that is used to introduce an explanation, example, quotation etc
   ▪ semicolon the sign ; that is used to separate words in a list, or different parts of a sentence that can be understood separately
   ▪ comma the sign , that is used to separate things in a list, or between two clauses in a sentence
   ▪ hyphen the sign – that is used to join words or syllables
   ▪ dash the sign — that is used to separate two closely related parts of a sentence, especially in more informal English
   ▪ full stop British English, period American English the sign . that is used to mark the end of a sentence or the short form of a word
   ▪ exclamation mark British English, exclamation point American English the sign ! that is used after a sentence or word that expresses surprise, anger, or excitement
   ▪ question mark the sign ? that is used at the end of a question
   ▪ quotation marks (also inverted commas British English) a pair of signs ‘ and ’ that are put around words, especially to show that you are quoting what someone has said