def

See also: DEF and Def.

English

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

Noun

def

  1. Abbreviation of deficit.
  2. Abbreviation of definition.
Derived terms

Adverb

def

  1. Abbreviation of definitely.
    i can def sneak out tn. where should i meet u?

Etymology 3

Clipping of definitive or definitely, alternately an eye spelling of death referring to an absolute.[1][2]

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:
      L.A.—The Second Deffest City of Hip-Hop [title]

References
  1. Safire, William (1988-09-25), “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 (1988-12-18), “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

  1. Alternative form of deef

Portuguese

Etymology

Clipping of deficiente.

Pronunciation

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:
      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
    Não sejas def. ― Don't be retarded.
    Synonyms: deficiente, tecla 3; see also Thesaurus:idiota

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

Wolof

Verb

def

  1. to do

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)
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