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def. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
def, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
def in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
def you have here. The definition of the word
def will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
def, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Noun
def (plural defs)
- Abbreviation of definition.
- Synonym: def.
1903, F[rederick] Stroud, The Judicial Dictionary, , 2nd edition, London: Sweet and Maxwell; Stevens and Sons, page 454:In that case Wills, J., adopted a dictionary def of “Cowkeeper” as, “one whose business it is to keep cows,” and added, “the business of a Cowkeeper is a special business of its own.”
2017, Kory Stamper, Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries, New York, N.Y.: Pantheon Books, →ISBN, page 104:The Black Books also reflect [Philip Babcock] Gove’s notoriously brusque manner, no doubt gained from an early career in the Navy. Memos begin, “Editorializing has no place in definitions,” or “Godlove’s psychophysical defs of color names and their references had better be regarded as sacrosanct.” Sir, yes, sir!
- Abbreviation of deficit.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Adverb
def
- Abbreviation of definitely.
i can def sneak out tn. where should i meet u?
- 2022 Barbie: It Takes Two, episode 7 “Start Small“ at 15 minutes, Malibu to Brooklyn:
- And focus on cleaning the park. But we should def get waffle fries after.
2023 September 19, Chaise Sanders, “50 Best Halloween Costumes of All Time, From the Classics to the Truly Unique”, in Cosmopolitan:Not to toot our own horn, but we def had Austin Powers on VHS. This fun pop culture costume for couples may require some planning in advance to come up with these unique costumes, but trust us—it’ll pay off!
Etymology 3
Clipping of definitive or definitely; alternatively an eye spelling of death referring to an absolute.
Adjective
def (comparative deffer, superlative deffest)
- (African-American Vernacular, slang) excellent; very good
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:excellent
1988, “Run’s House”, in Tougher Than Leather, performed by Run-DMC:See I do this thing, so come pursue this king / One minor rhyme is all you just bring / Cause I’m the best I’m def, ask the rest they left
1988 February 7, Carly Darling, “L.A.—The Second Deffest City of Hip-Hop”, in Los Angeles Times:L.A.—The Second Deffest City of Hip-Hop [title]
1993, “Bring The Flavor”, in Black Reign, performed by Queen Latifah:I’m a Flavor Unit MC / And that means I’m one of the roughest, def-est, toughest, best-est
References
- ^ Safire, William (1988 September 25) “On Language: ‘Eat Your Peas’”, in The New York Times: “Def, a clip of definitely is now the word for terrif, and on some campuses has out-neatened neat.”
- ^ Staples, Brent (1988 December 18) “On Language: ‘High on the Five’”, in The New York Times:
Failing to see the word's antecedents, I suspected that def was either bogus or an orphan, lost to its slang ancestors through mispronunciation or misspelling […] Three critics of popular music failed to provide me with satisfactory antecedents. One suggested that def was an abbreviation of definitely, another suggested deference and the third had no hunch at all […] Russell Simmons, a founder of the company [Def Jam Recordings], said that his partner, in designing the logo for the company’s record label, may have been the first to set def down in writing. Simmons also said that his associate had clearly misheard the word as it was then spoken in the streets. Def, Simmons said, was a mispronunciation of death.
Anagrams
Middle English
Adjective
def
- Alternative form of deef
Portuguese
Etymology
Clipping of deficiente.
Pronunciation
Noun
def m or f by sense (plural defs)
- (Portugal, derogatory, somewhat dated) handicapped
2015, “Mafalda Ribeiro: “Parti ossos 90 vezes. Mas agradeço sempre, até as dores””, in Visão:Referes-te a ti própria como a “Def”. Detestas o politicamente correto?- You refer to yourself as the “Def” (handicapped). Do you hate political correctness?.
- (Portugal, derogatory, somewhat dated) retarded, idiot
- Synonyms: deficiente, tecla 3; see also Thesaurus:idiota
- Não sejas def. ― Don’t be retarded.
Serbo-Croatian
Etymology
Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish دف (def), from Persian دف (daf).
Pronunciation
Noun
dȅf m (Cyrillic spelling де̏ф)
- daf
- tambourine
Declension
See also
Wolof
Pronunciation
Verb
def
- to do
Conjugation
References
Omar Ka (2018) Nanu Dégg Wolof, National African Language Resource Center, →ISBN, page 100
Zazaki
Etymology
Compare Persian دف (daf).
Noun
def
- daf (a Persian frame drum)