dash (dashes plural & 3rd person present) (dashing present participle) (dashed past tense & past participle )
1 verb If you dash somewhere, you run or go there quickly and suddenly.
Suddenly she dashed down to the cellar... V adv/prep
Dash is also a noun., n-sing
...a 160-mile dash to hospital.
2 verb If you say that you have to dash, you mean that you are in a hurry and have to leave immediately.
INFORMAL no cont
(=rush)
Oh, Tim! I'm sorry but I have to dash... V
3 n-count A dashof something is a small quantity of it which you add when you are preparing food or mixing a drink.
usu N of n
Add a dash of balsamic vinegar.
4 n-count A dashof a quality is a small amount of it that is found in something and often makes it more interesting or distinctive.
usu N of n
...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 She seized the doll and dashed it against the stone wall with tremendous force. V n against n, 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)
The announcement dashed hopes of an early end to the crisis... V n
They had their championship hopes dashed by a 3-1 defeat. have n V-ed
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 If you make a dash for a place, you run there very quickly, for example to escape from someone or something.
make a dash phrase V inflects, PHR n
I made a dash for the front door but he got there before me... dash off
1 phrasal verb If you dash offto a place, you go there very quickly.
He dashed off to lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe... V P to n
2 phrasal verb If you dash off a piece of writing, you write or compose it very quickly, without thinking about it very much.
He dashed off a couple of novels. V P n (not pron)
