Link Centre Dictionary

detail

de·tail

UK/dɪˈteɪl/ US/ˈdiː.teɪl/ common
noun (5) verb (2)

noun

1.

an isolated fact that is considered separately from the whole

  • “several of the details are similar”
  • “a point of information”
Synonyms
2.

a small part that can be considered separately from the whole

  • “it was perfect in all details”
Synonyms
3.

extended treatment of particulars

  • “the essay contained too much detail”
4.

a crew of workers selected for a particular task

  • “a detail was sent to remove the fallen trees”
5.

a temporary military unit

  • “the peace-keeping force includes one British contingent”
Synonyms

verb

1.
2.

assign to a specific task

  • “The ambulances were detailed to the fire station”

Origin

Borrowed from Middle French détail, from Old French detail, from detaillier, from de- + taillier (“to cut”). Compare typologically Bulgarian подробност (podrobnost), Czech podrobnost, Russian подро́бность (podróbnostʹ) (akin to дроби́ть (drobítʹ)).

Phrases

  • big picture
  • bird's-eye view
  • go into detail
  • God is in the detail
  • in detail
  • into detail
  • security detail
  • the devil is in the details

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.