/ dɪˈskrɪpʃn; NAmE / noun
1.
[ C , U ] ~ (of sb/sth) a piece of writing or speech that says what sb/sth is like; the act of writing or saying in words what sb/sth is like :
to give a detailed / full description of the procedure
a brief / general description of the software
Police have issued a description of the gunman.
'Scared stiff' is an apt description of how I felt at that moment.
a personal pain that goes beyond description (= is too great to express in words)
the novelist's powers of description
➡ note at report
2.
[ C ] of some, all, every, etc. ~ of some, etc. type :
boats of every description / all descriptions
Their money came from trade of some description.
medals, coins and things of that description
•
IDIOMS
- answer / fit a description (of sb/sth)
—more at beggar verb
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : via Old French from Latin descriptio(n-) , from describere write down.