Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense dots, present participle dotting, past tense, past participle dotted
1. countable noun
A dot is a very small round mark, for example one that is used as the top part of the letter 'i', as a full stop, or as a decimal point.
2. countable noun
You can refer to something that you can see in the distance and that looks like a small round mark as a dot.
Soon they were only dots above the hard line of the horizon.
3. verb
When things dot a place or an area, they are scattered or spread all over it.
Small coastal towns dot the landscape. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: spot, cover, spread over, pepper More Synonyms of dot
4. See also dotted, polka dots
5.
See on the dot
6.
See dot the i's and cross the t's
7.
See the year dot
More Synonyms of dot
dot in British English1
(dɒt)
noun
1.
a small round mark made with or as with a pen, etc; spot; speck; point
2.
anything resembling a dot; a small amount
a dot of paint
3.
the mark (˙) that appears above the main stem of the letters i, j
4. music
a.
the symbol (·) placed after a note or rest to increase its time value by half
b.
this symbol written above or below a note indicating that it must be played or sung staccato
5. mathematics, logic
a.
the symbol (.) indicating multiplication or logical conjunction
b.
a decimal point
6.
the symbol (·) used, in combination with the symbol for dash (–), in the written representation of Morse and other telegraphic codes
Compare dit
7. the year dot
8. on the dot
verbWord forms: dots, dotting or dotted
9. (transitive)
to mark or form with a dot
to dot a letter
a dotted crotchet
10. (transitive)
to scatter or intersperse (with dots or something resembling dots)
bushes dotting the plain
11. (intransitive)
to make a dot or dots
12. dot one's i's and cross one's t's
Derived forms
dotter (ˈdotter)
noun
Word origin
Old English dott head of a boil; related to Old High German tutta nipple, Norwegian dott, Dutch dott lump
dot in British English2
(dɒt)
noun
civil law
a woman's dowry
Derived forms
dotal (ˈdəʊtəl)
adjective
Word origin
C19: from French, from Latin dōs; related to dōtāre to endow, dāre to give
DOT in British English
abbreviation for(in the US)
Department of Transportation
DOT in American English
Department of Transportation
dot in American English1
(dɑt)
noun
1.
a tiny spot, speck, or mark, esp. one made with or as with a pointed object
; as
a.
a point used in orthography or punctuation; specif., the mark placed above an i or j in writing or printing
b. Ancient Mathematics
a decimal point; also, a point used as a symbol of multiplication
c. Music
a point after a note or rest, increasing its time value by one half; also, a pointput above or below a note to show that it is staccato
2.
any small, round spot
polka dot
3. Telegraphy
a short sound or click, as in Morse code
see also dash1
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈdotted or ˈdotting
4.
to mark with or as with a dot
5.
to make or form with dots
a dotted line
6.
to cover with or as with dots; appear as dotlike parts in
gas stations dotted the landscape
verb intransitive
7.
to make a dot or dots
Idioms:
dot one's i's and cross one's t's
on the dot
Derived forms
dotter (ˈdotter)
noun
Word origin
OE dott, head of boil: prob. reinforced (16th c.) by Du dot, akin to Ger dütte, nipple, Du dodde, a plug, Norw, LowG dott, little heap or swelling
dot in American English2
(dɔt)
noun
a woman's marriage dowry
Derived forms
dotal (ˈdotal) (ˈdɔtəl)
adjective
Word origin
Fr < L dos (gen. dotis) < dare, to give: see UNRESOLVED CROSS REF
More idioms containing
dot
since the year dot
do something on the dot
dot the i's and cross the t's
Examples of 'dot' in a sentence
dot
Suddenly, on the laptop screen next to the tripod, a small white dot appears.
Smithsonian Mag (2017)
Here, smaller producers are dotted along the river as it flows east to join the Seine.
The Sun (2016)
We are left to join the dots for ourselves.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Think stripes for stairs and repeat dots for bigger areas.
The Sun (2011)
Dartmoor is all about green plains dotted with yellow gorse and ferns.
The Sun (2014)
She was wearing a white cotton dress with red polka dots.
Carlos Acosta No Way Home: A Cuban Dancer's Tale (2007)
The binary dots and dashes that fuel the entire system will flicker and die.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He projected a slide of one painting onto the chair and painted over the dots.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
If you hold its leaves up to the light you will see translucent dots on them.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Picnic places are dotted along the banks and paths lead to hides.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Sprinkle small dots of butter and mashed garlic around the outside.
The Sun (2014)
Which dotted line a player puts his moniker on is entirely his prerogative.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
They are found in villages dotted about a landscape that is agreeable to tour.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
If we can join the dots more intelligently then we should make the attempt.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
But the main tourist pull of this cosmopolitan town is the surfing beaches dotted around the area.
The Sun (2009)
Pair prints or polka dots with red lipstick.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Can anyone see any dots here that might actually be joined up?
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
At night the place is dotted with candles to show off the glorious sunsets.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Man is such a small dot in the scale of time.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Join the dots to the line.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Not one iota, not one dot of the law will pass away until all is fulfilled.
Christianity Today (2000)
It is one red dot for gold, two for silver and three for bronze.
The Sun (2012)
Holding his religious mirror up to his face, he carefully dotted paint on his own.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Trace around the contours of your eyes in an oval shape, mapping out with dots and dashes first.
The Sun (2015)
In the distance dark spots dot the sides of mountains as groups of about 1,500 fresh troops carry out their basic training.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Can YOU spot the dot?
The Sun (2011)
In other languages
dot
British English: dot /dɒt/ NOUN
A dot is a very small round mark.
...a black dot in the middle of the circle.
American English: dot
Arabic: نُقْطَة
Brazilian Portuguese: ponto
Chinese: 小圆点
Croatian: točka
Czech: puntík
Danish: prik
Dutch: punt
European Spanish: punto trazo
Finnish: täplä
French: point dessin
German: Punkt
Greek: κουκκίδα
Italian: punto
Japanese: 点 符号
Korean: 점
Norwegian: punkt
Polish: kropka
European Portuguese: ponto
Romanian: punct
Russian: точка
Latin American Spanish: punto señal pequeña circular
Swedish: punkt
Thai: จุด
Turkish: nokta şekil
Ukrainian: крапка
Vietnamese: chấm tròn nhỏ
British English: dot VERB
When things dot a place or an area, they are scattered or spread all over it.
Small coastal towns dot the landscape.
American English: dot
Brazilian Portuguese: espalhar-se
Chinese: 遍布于
European Spanish: salpicar
French: parsemer
German: übersäen
Italian: costellare
Japanese: 点在する
Korean: 점점이 흩어져 있다
European Portuguese: espalhar-se
Latin American Spanish: salpicar
All related terms of 'dot'
Wyandot
a Native American of the former Huron confederacy
dot-com
A dot-com is a company that does all or most of its business on the internet .
dot ball
a ball from which a run is not scored
polka dot
one of a pattern of small circular regularly spaced spots on a fabric
centred dot
a heavy dot ( · ) used to draw attention to a particular paragraph
dot leaders
dots that connect an entry with its page number in a printed table of contents or an index
dot-matrix
of or pertaining to a system of printing , as by certain computer printers , in which characters are formed of individual dots printed close together by means of columns of small hammers that are moved across the page
dot product
the product of two vectors to form a scalar , whose value is the product of the magnitudes of the vectors and the cosine of the angle between them. Written: A · B or AB
on the dot
If you arrive somewhere or do something on the dot , you arrive there or do it at exactly the time that you were supposed to.
the year dot
The year dot is used to mean a very long time ago.
dot matrix printer
a printer that forms all characters from a grid of dots that can be selectively inked
dot the landscape
The landscape is everything you can see when you look across an area of land, including hills , rivers , buildings, trees, and plants.
since the year dot
for a very long time
do something on the dot
to do something at exactly the time you are supposed to do it
matrix printer
a printer in which each character is produced as an array of dots by a printhead
dot the i's and cross the t's
If you say that someone dots the i's and crosses the t's , you mean that they pay great attention to every small detail in a task ; often used to express your annoyance because such detailed work seems unnecessary and takes a very long time.
inner product
the quantity obtained by multiplying the corresponding coordinates of each of two vectors and adding the products , equal to the product of the magnitudes of the vectors and the cosine of the angle between them
scalar product
the product of two vectors to form a scalar , whose value is the product of the magnitudes of the vectors and the cosine of the angle between them. Written : A · B or AB
dot one's i's and cross one's t's
to pay meticulous attention to detail
Chinese translation of 'dot'
dot
(dɔt)
n(c)
(= small round mark) 圆(圓)点(點) (yuándiǎn) (个(個), gè)
(= speck, spot) (in the distance) 小点(點) (xiǎodiǎn)
vt
[area, landscape]星罗(羅)棋布于(於) (xīng luó qí bù yú)
on the dot (= punctually) 准(準)时(時)地 (zhǔnshí de)
dotted with密布着(著) (mìbùzhe)
(noun)
Definition
a small round mark
a small black dot in the middle
Synonyms
spot
The floorboards were covered with white spots.
point
a point of light in an otherwise dark world
mark
The dogs rub against the walls and make dirty marks.
circle
atom
one carbon atom attached to four hydrogens
dab
a dab of glue
mite
fleck
His hair is dark grey with flecks of ginger.
jot
It doesn't affect my judgement one jot.
speck
There is a speck of blood by his ear.
full stop
speckle
mote
Dust motes swirled in the sunlight.
iota
Our credit standards have not changed one iota.
pinprick
(verb)
Definition
to scatter or intersperse
Small coastal towns dotted the area.
Synonyms
spot
a brown shoe spotted with paint
cover
spread over
pepper
The road was peppered with glass.
scatter
bays picturesquely scattered with rocky islets
stud
litter
Concrete holiday resorts are littered across the mountainside.
strew
By the end, bodies were strewn all around the headquarters building.
fleck
patches of red paint which flecked her blouse
speckle
sprinkle
Cheese can be sprinkled on egg and vegetable dishes.