Dash vs. Underscore

(typography) Any of the following symbols: ‒ (figure dash), – (en dash), — (em dash), or ― (horizontal bar).

(colloquial) A hyphen or minus sign.

(by extension) The longer of the two symbols of Morse code.

A short run, flight.

Example: ‘When the feds came they did the dash.’;

A rushing or violent onset.

Violent strike; a whack.

A small quantity of a liquid substance etc.; less than 1/8 of a teaspoon.

Example: ‘Add a dash of vinegar.’;

A slight admixture.

Example: ‘There is a dash of craziness in his personality.’;

Ostentatious vigor.

Example: ‘Aren't we full of dash this morning?’;

A dashboard.

A bribe or gratuity; a gift

A stand-in for a censored word, like "Devil" or "damn". (Compare deuce.)

(intransitive) To run quickly or for a short distance.

Example: ‘He dashed across the field.’;

To leave or depart.

Example: ‘I have to dash now. See you soon.’;

(transitive) To destroy by striking (against).

Example: ‘He dashed the bottle against the bar and turned about to fight.’;

(transitive) To throw violently.

Example: ‘The man was dashed from the vehicle during the accident.’;

To sprinkle; to splatter.

To mix, reduce, or adulterate, by throwing in something of an inferior quality.

Example: ‘to dash wine with water’;

To ruin; to destroy.

Example: ‘Her hopes were dashed when she saw the damage.’;

(transitive) To dishearten; to sadden.

Example: ‘Her thoughts were dashed to melancholy.’;

(transitive) To complete hastily, usually with down or off.

Example: ‘He dashed down his eggs, she dashed off her homework’;

(transitive) To draw quickly; jot.

(euphemistic) Damn!

To throw with violence or haste; to cause to strike violently or hastily; - often used with against.

Example: ‘If you dash a stone against a stone in the botton of the water, it maketh a sound.’;

To break, as by throwing or by collision; to shatter; to crust; to frustrate; to ruin.

Example: ‘Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.’; ‘A brave vessel, . . . Dashed all to pieces.’; ‘To perplex and dashMaturest counsels.’;

To put to shame; to confound; to confuse; to abash; to depress.

Example: ‘Dash the proud gamester in his gilded car.’;

To throw in or on in a rapid, careless manner; to mix, reduce, or adulterate, by throwing in something of an inferior quality; to overspread partially; to bespatter; to touch here and there; as, to dash wine with water; to dash paint upon a picture.

Example: ‘I take care to dash the character with such particular circumstance as may prevent ill-natured applications.’; ‘The very source and fount of dayIs dashed with wandering isles of night.’;

To form or sketch rapidly or carelessly; to execute rapidly, or with careless haste; - with off; as, to dash off a review or sermon.

To erase by a stroke; to strike out; knock out; - with out; as, to dash out a word.

To rush with violence; to move impetuously; to strike violently; as, the waves dash upon rocks.

Example: ‘[He] dashed through thick and thin.’; ‘On each hand the gushing waters play,And down the rough cascade all dashing fall.’;

Violent striking together of two bodies; collision; crash.

A sudden check; abashment; frustration; ruin; as, his hopes received a dash.

A slight admixture, infusion, or adulteration; a partial overspreading; as, wine with a dash of water; red with a dash of purple.

Example: ‘Innocence when it has in it a dash of folly.’;

A rapid movement, esp. one of short duration; a quick stroke or blow; a sudden onset or rush; as, a bold dash at the enemy; a dash of rain.

Example: ‘She takes upon her bravely at first dash.’;

Energy in style or action; animation; spirit.

A vain show; a blustering parade; a flourish; as, to make or cut a great dash.

A mark or line [-], in writing or printing, denoting a sudden break, stop, or transition in a sentence, or an abrupt change in its construction, a long or significant pause, or an unexpected or epigrammatic turn of sentiment. Dashes are also sometimes used instead of marks or parenthesis.

The sign of staccato, a small mark [ ] denoting that the note over which it is placed is to be performed in a short, distinct manner.

A short, spirited effort or trial of speed upon a race course; - used in horse racing, when a single trial constitutes the race.

distinctive and stylish elegance;

Example: ‘he wooed her with the confident dash of a cavalry officer’;

a quick run

a footrace run at top speed;

Example: ‘he is preparing for the 100-yard dash’;

a punctuation mark (-) used between parts of a compound word or between the syllables of a word when the word is divided at the end of a line of text

the longer of the two telegraphic signals used in Morse code

the act of moving with great haste;

Example: ‘he made a dash for the door’;

run or move very quickly or hastily;

Example: ‘She dashed into the yard’;

break into pieces, as by striking or knocking over;

Example: ‘Smash a plate’;

hurl or thrust violently;

Example: ‘He dashed the plate against the wall’; ‘Waves were dashing against the rock’;

destroy or break;

Example: ‘dashed ambitions and hopes’;

cause to lose courage;

Example: ‘dashed by the refusal’;

add an enlivening or altering element to;

Example: ‘blue paint dashed with white’;

run or travel somewhere in a great hurry

Example: ‘I must dash, I'm late’; ‘I dashed into the garden’;

strike or fling (something) somewhere with great force, especially so as to have a destructive effect; hurl

Example: ‘the ship was dashed upon the rocks’;

strike forcefully against something

Example: ‘a gust of rain dashed against the bricks’;

destroy or frustrate (hopes or expectations)

Example: ‘the budget dashed hopes of an increase in funding’;

cause (someone) to lose confidence; dispirit

Example: ‘I won't tell Stuart—I think he'd be dashed’;

used to express mild annoyance

Example: ‘dash it all, I am in charge’;

an act of running somewhere suddenly and hastily

Example: ‘she made a dash for the door’;

a journey or period of time characterized by urgency or eager haste

Example: ‘a 20-mile dash to the airport’;

a short, fast race run in one heat; a sprint

Example: ‘the 100 m dash’;

a small quantity of a liquid added to something else

Example: ‘whisky with a dash of soda’;

a small amount of a quality that adds piquancy or distinctiveness to something else

Example: ‘a casual atmosphere with a dash of sophistication’;

a horizontal stroke in writing or printing to mark a pause or break in sense or to represent omitted letters or words.

the longer signal of the two used in Morse code.

a short vertical mark placed above or beneath a note to indicate that it is to be performed in a very staccato manner.

impetuous or flamboyant vigour and confidence; panache

Example: ‘he has youthful energy, dash, and charisma’;

short for dashboard

Example: ‘an indicator on the dash tells you what gear you are in’;

The dash is a punctuation mark that is similar in appearance to the hyphen and minus sign but differs from these symbols in length and, in some fonts, height above the baseline. The most common versions of the dash are the en dash –, longer than the hyphen; the em dash —, longer than the en dash; and the horizontal bar ―, whose length varies across typefaces but tends to be between those of the en and em dashes.

An underline; a line drawn or printed beneath text; the character _.

(music) A piece of background music.

To underline; to mark a line beneath text.

To emphasize or draw attention to.

Example: ‘I wish to underscore the importance of proper formatting.’;

To draw a mark or line under; to underline.

a line drawn underneath (especially under written matter)

give extra weight to (a communication);

Example: ‘Her gesture emphasized her words’;

draw a line or lines underneath to call attention to

An underscore, also called an underline, low line or low dash, is a line drawn under a segment of text. In proofreading, underscoring is a convention that says , traditionally used on manuscript or typescript as an instruction to the printer.

Example: ‘set this text in italic type’;