1. n. & v.
--n.
1. a a small spot, speck, or mark. b such a mark written or printed as part of an i or j, as a diacritical mark, as one of a series of marks to signify omission, or as a full stop. c a decimal point.
2 Mus. a dot used to denote the lengthening of a note or rest, or to indicate staccato.
3 the shorter signal of the two used in Morse code (cf. DASH n. 6).
4 a tiny or apparently tiny object (a dot on the horizon).
--v.tr. (dotted, dotting)
1. a mark with a dot or dots. b place a dot over (a letter).
2 Mus. mark (a note or rest) to show that the time value is increased by half.
3 (often foll. by about) scatter like dots.
4 partly cover as with dots (a sea dotted with ships).
5 sl. hit (dotted him one in the eye).
Phrases and idioms:
dot the i's and cross the t's colloq.
1. be minutely accurate, emphasize details.
2 add the final touches to a task, exercise, etc. dot matrix printer Computing a printer with characters formed from dots printed by configurations of the tips of small wires. dotted line a line of dots on a document, esp. to show a place left for a signature. on the dot exactly on time. the year dot Brit. colloq. far in the past.
Derivatives:
dotter n.
Etymology: OE dott head of a boil, perh. infl. by Du. dot knot 2. n. a woman's dowry.
Etymology: F f. L dos dotis