def

See also: DEF and Def.

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛf/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛf
• Homophone: deaf

Etymology 1

Noun

def (plural defs)

1. 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!

2. Abbreviation of deficit.

Derived terms

• hi-def
• high-def
• low-def

 

Etymology 2

Adverb

def

1. (slang) Clipping of definitely.

   Alternative form: deff

   Synonym: deffo

   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^[3]:

     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!

   • 2024 September 4, Mehera Bonner, Samantha Olson, “Behold, A Breakdown of Billie Eilish's Massive Net Worth”, in Cosmopolitan‎^[4]:

     While deets on her earnings aren't really public, we can def assume that Billie raked in a ton of dough from her Nike deal alone since each pair retails for a decent amount of $$$.

Etymology 3

Clipping of definitive or definitely; alternatively an eye spelling of death referring to an absolute.

Adjective

def (comparative deffer, superlative deffest)

1. (African-American Vernacular, slang) Excellent; very good.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:excellent

   • 1985, Ralph Farquhar, Krush Groove, spoken by Run (Joseph Simmons):

     You real def. I’m gonna put you on stage.

   • 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^[5]:

     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

Anagrams

• DfE, FDE, FED, Fed, Fed., f***ed, fed

Middle English

Adjective

def

1. Alternative form of deef

Portuguese

Etymology

Clipping of deficiente.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛf/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛf/

Noun

def m or f by sense (plural defs)

1. (Portugal, derogatory, somewhat dated) handicapped
   • 2015, “Mafalda Ribeiro: “Parti ossos 90 vezes. Mas agradeço sempre, até as dores””, in Visão‎^[6]:

     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?.

2. (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

• IPA^(key): /dêf/

Noun

dȅf m (Cyrillic spelling де̏ф)

1. daf
2. tambourine

Declension

Declension of def

	singular	plural
nominative	dȅf	dèfovi
genitive	defa	defova
dative	defu	defovima
accusative	def	defove
vocative	defe	defovi
locative	defu	defovima
instrumental	defom	defovima

See also

• daire

Turkish

Etymology

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish دفع (def’), from Arabic دَفْع (dafʕ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /def/

Noun

def (definite accusative defi, plural defler)

1. repulsion, expulsion

   Synonym: savma

Declension

Inflection
Nominative	def
Definite accusative	defi
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	def	defler
Definite accusative	defi	defleri
Dative	defe	deflere
Locative	defte	deflerde
Ablative	deften	deflerden
Genitive	defin	deflerin

Derived terms

• defetmek
• defibela
• defigam
• defihacet
• defolmak

 

Related terms

• defa
• defaat
• defaten
• indifa
• müdafaa
• müdafi

 

Further reading

• “def”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “def”, in Nişanyan Sözlük

Wolof

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

def

1. to do

Conjugation

Conjugation of def

	Present	Imperfect	Pluperfect	Future
1st s.	damay def	dama doon def	defoon naa	dinaa def
2nd s.	dangay def	danga doon def	defoon nga	dinga def
3rd s.	dafay def	dafa doon def	defoon na	dina def
1st p.	dañuy def	dañu doon def	defoon nañu	dinañu def
2nd p.	dangeen def	dangeen doon def	defoon ngeen	dingeen def
3rd p.	deñuy def	deñu doon def	defoon nañu	dinañu def
Imperative
singular	defal!
plural	defleen!

References

Omar Ka (2018) Nanu Dégg Wolof, National African Language Resource Center, →ISBN, page 100

Zazaki

Etymology

Compare Persian دف (daf).

Noun

def

1. daf (a Persian frame drum)