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Detail

//ˈdi.teɪl// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A part small enough to escape casual notice. countable

    "Note this fine detail in the lower left corner."

  2. 2
    an isolated fact that is considered separately from the whole wordnet
  3. 3
    A profusion of details. uncountable

    "This etching is full of fine detail."

  4. 4
    extended treatment of particulars wordnet
  5. 5
    The small parts that can escape casual notice. uncountable

    "Attention to detail was said to be one of the secrets of Gerrard's success as a player."

Show 9 more definitions
  1. 6
    a crew of workers selected for a particular task wordnet
  2. 7
    A part considered trivial enough to ignore. countable, uncountable

    "I don't concern myself with the details of accounting."

  3. 8
    a temporary military unit wordnet
  4. 9
    A person's name, address and other personal information. countable

    "The arresting officer asked the suspect for his details."

  5. 10
    a small part that can be considered separately from the whole wordnet
  6. 11
    A temporary unit or assignment. countable, uncountable

    "Frequently members of the small police detail dispatched to the scene joined in."

  7. 12
    An individual feature, fact, or other item, considered separately from the whole of which it is a part. countable, uncountable

    "WikiLeaks did not cause these uprisings but it certainly informed them. The dispatches revealed details of corruption and kleptocracy that many Tunisians suspected, but could not prove, and would cite as they took to the streets. They also exposed the blatant discrepancy between the west's professed values and actual foreign policies."

  8. 13
    A narrative which relates minute points; an account which dwells on particulars. countable, uncountable

    ""I could never persuade myself to confide in him that event which was so often present to my recollection, but which I feared the detail to another would only impress more deeply.""

  9. 14
    A selected portion of a painting. countable, uncountable

    "On the cover of Julia Kristeva's Black Sun: Depression and Melancholia is a detail from a painting by Hans Holbein the Younger, “Portrait of the Artist's Wife, Elizabeth Binzenstock, and Her Two Children, Philip and Catherine.”"

Verb
  1. 1
    To explain in detail. transitive

    "I'll detail the exact procedure to you later."

  2. 2
    assign to a specific task wordnet
  3. 3
    To clean carefully (particularly of road vehicles, always pronounced. /ˈdiːteɪl/) transitive

    "We need to have the minivan detailed."

  4. 4
    provide details for wordnet
  5. 5
    To assign to a particular task. transitive

    "Two years after England’s World Cup victory, Stiles was at Wembley again to help Manchester United become the first English team to win the European Cup final. Again Eusébio was one of his opponents, playing for Benfica, and again Stiles was detailed to keep him quiet. […]"

Etymology

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle French détail, from Old French detail, from detaillier, from de- + taillier (“to cut”).

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Middle French détail, from Old French detail, from detaillier, from de- + taillier (“to cut”).

See also for "detail"

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