What does "dot" mean?
A small, round spot.
Dot
/dɑt/ name, noun, prep, verb, slang
name, noun, prep, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A small, round spot.
- Grammar: dot is listed as name, noun, prep, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: point, accent, accent mark, ace.
- Useful contrasts: abundance, area, arrows.
- Usage evidence: Be at the station at eleven on the dot.
How to use "dot"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "dot" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "dot" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "dot" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "dot" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "dot" is acting as name, noun, prep, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "point" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "dot", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A small, round spot.
"a dot of colour"
- 2 A dowry. Louisiana, US
""Have you the pictures still?" I asked. "Yes; I am keeping them till my daughter is of marriageable age, and then I shall sell them. They will be her dot.""
- 3 Initialism of disodium octaborate tetrahydrate. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 4 Alternative spelling of DOT. alt-of, alternative
- 5 street name for lysergic acid diethylamide wordnet
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 A punctuation mark used to indicate the end of a sentence or an abbreviated part of a word; a full stop; a period.
- 7 Initialism of damage over time. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 8 the shorter of the two telegraphic signals used in Morse code wordnet
- 9 A point used as a diacritical mark above or below various letters of the Latin script, as in Ȧ, Ạ, Ḅ, Ḃ, Ċ.
- 10 A weapon or ability that deals damage over time as opposed to or in addition to direct damage. broadly, countable, uncountable
- 11 the United States federal department that institutes and coordinates national transportation programs; created in 1966 wordnet
- 12 A symbol used for separating the fractional part of a decimal number from the whole part, for indicating multiplication or a scalar product, or for various other purposes.
- 13 a very small circular shape wordnet
- 14 in musical notation, a symbol in the form of a small point placed after a note, indicating that its duration is to be augmented by 50%.
- 15 One of the two symbols used in Morse code.
"The alphabetical signals are made up of combinations of dots and of lines of different lengths."
- 16 A lump or clot. obsolete
- 17 Anything small and like a speck comparatively; a small portion or specimen.
"a dot of a child"
- 18 A dot ball. informal
"That left 15 needed from Boult's final set. Two dots were followed by a heave over deep mid-wicket, then came the outrageous moment of fortune."
- 19 buckshot, projectile from a "dotty" or shotgun Multicultural-London-English
"Can’t miss no dots Every shot let caused I’m hittin Used to bag it up in the toilet My mumsie thought I was shittin"
- 20 Clipping of dotty (“shotgun”). Multicultural-London-English, abbreviation, alt-of, clipping
"We got rambos, glocks and dots, It takes two armed jakes to sum off the block"
- 21 confinement facility Multicultural-London-English, rare, slang
"The feds want me in the dot I got luck for selling them drugs But when I come out I’m still building a spot"
Verb
- 1 To cover with small spots (of some liquid). transitive
"His jacket was dotted with splashes of paint."
- 2 mark with a dot wordnet
- 3 To add a dot (the symbol) or dots to. transitive
"Dot your is and cross your ts."
- 4 make a dot or dots wordnet
- 5 To mark by means of dots or small spots.
"to dot a line"
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 distribute loosely wordnet
- 7 To mark or diversify with small detached objects.
"to dot a landscape with cottages"
- 8 scatter or intersperse like dots or studs wordnet
- 9 To punch (a person). colloquial
"`Which means,' said John, `that someone dotted him a good one, shoved him into the bathtub, ran the water, then opened his mouth and poured champagne into it until he drowned.'"
Preposition
- 1 Dot product of the previous vector and the following vector.
"The work is equal to F dot Δx."
Proper Noun
- 1 A diminutive of the female given name Dorothy.
- 2 Initialism of Department of Transportation or Department of Transport. US, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
"Alaska DOT crews returned to Igiugig on Tuesday to repair the lights, which are now back in service, Dapcevich said."
- 3 Initialism of Department of Tourism. Philippines, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Example
"Be at the station at eleven on the dot."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "dot"?
Common synonyms include: point, accent, accent mark, ace, acid, appanage.
How do you use "dot" in a sentence?
Be at the station at eleven on the dot.
How do you pronounce "dot"?
Pronounced /dɑt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English *dot, dotte, from Old English dott (“a dot, point”), from Proto-West Germanic *dott, from Proto-Germanic *duttaz (“wisp”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Dot, Dotte (“a clump”), Dutch dot (“lump, knot, clod”), Low German Dutte (“a plug”), dialectal Swedish dott (“a little heap, bunch, clump”).
Etymology 2
From French dot.