dart

[dahrt] /dɑrt/
noun
1.
a small, slender missile that is pointed at one end and usually feathered at the other and is propelled by hand, as in the game of darts, or by a blowgun when used as a weapon.
2.
something similar in function to such a missile, as the stinging member of an insect.
3.
darts, (used with a singular verb) a game in which darts are thrown at a target usually marked with concentric circles divided into segments and with a bull's-eye in the center.
4.
an act of darting; a sudden swift movement.
5.
a tapered seam of fabric for adjusting the fit of a garment.
verb (used without object)
6.
to move swiftly; spring or start suddenly and run swiftly:
A mouse darted out of the closet and ran across the room.
verb (used with object)
7.
to thrust or move suddenly or rapidly:
He darted his eyes around the room.
Origin
1275-1325; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French < Old Low Franconian; compare Old English daroth, Old High German tart, Old Norse darrathr spear, lance
Related forms
dartingly, adverb
dartingness, noun
Synonyms
1. arrow, barb. 6. dash, bolt, shoot.
Examples from the web for dart
  • Your eyes dart around, bringing different objects into view.
  • The scientists must send a team to tranquilize the bear with a dart gun, but they don't know how many gunners to send.
  • To me it seems that dark matter is dart due to the absence of light.
  • It will dart in and out of the famous rings, looking for clues to their varied colours and shifting striations.
  • Instead, the team were forced to search for bears by helicopter and tranquillise each one they found with a dart.
  • We bow our goodbyes and dart away in different directions.
  • They seemed at any rate to be alive, and to dart from one point to another of her attire.
  • The way not to enter a drawing-room is to dart forward and then stand awkwardly bewildered and looking about in every direction.
  • For instance, an arrow or dart turns as it goes forward, and goes forward as it turns.
  • Today the state's game commission gave preliminary approval for hunting deer hunting using the atlatl and dart.
British Dictionary definitions for dart

dart1

/dɑːt/
noun
1.
a small narrow pointed missile that is thrown or shot, as in the game of darts
2.
a sudden quick movement
3.
(zoology) a slender pointed structure, as in snails for aiding copulation or in nematodes for penetrating the host's tissues
4.
a tapered tuck made in dressmaking
verb
5.
to move or throw swiftly and suddenly; shoot: she darted across the room
See also darts
Derived Forms
darting, adjective
dartingly, adverb
Word Origin
C14: from Old French, of Germanic origin; related to Old English daroth spear, Old High German tart dart

dart2

/dɑːt/
noun
1.
any of various tropical and semitropical marine fish
Word Origin
from Middle English darce, from Late Latin dardus, dart, javelin
Word Origin and History for dart
n.

early 14c., from Old French dart "throwing spear, arrow," from Proto-Germanic *darothuz cf. Old English daroð, Old High German tart, Old Norse darraþr "dart"). Italian and Spanish dardo are said to be from Germanic by way of Old Provençal.

v.

late 14c., "to pierce with a dart," from dart (n.). Meaning "to move like a dart" is attested from 1610s. Related: Darted; darter; darting.

Related Abbreviations for dart

DART

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology
dart in the Bible

an instrument of war; a light spear. "Fiery darts" (Eph. 6:16) are so called in allusion to the habit of discharging darts from the bow while they are on fire or armed with some combustible material. Arrows are compared to lightning (Deut. 32:23, 42; Ps. 7:13; 120:4).