def

See also: DEF and Def.

English

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dɛf/
Audio (AU) (file)
Rhymes: -ɛf
Homophone: deaf

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

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.[1][2]

Adjective

def (comparative deffer, superlative deffest)

(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:
  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

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

Middle English

Adjective

def

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)

(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 (daf).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dêf/

Noun

dȅf m (Cyrillic spelling де̏ф)

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

Wolof

Pronunciation

Audio (file)

Verb

def

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 (daf).

Noun

def

daf (a Persian frame drum)

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[1] 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.”

[2] 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.