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Dan

1 American  
[dan] / dæn /

noun

    1. (in the Bible) a son of Jacob and Bilhah.

    2. one of the 12 tribes of ancient Israel, traditionally descended from him.

  2. the northernmost city of ancient Palestine.

  3. a male given name, form of Daniel.

idioms

  1. from Dan to Beersheba, from one outermost extreme or limit to the other.

Dan 2 American  
[dan] / dæn /

noun

Archaic.

  1. a title of honor equivalent to master or sir:

    Dan Chaucer.
dan 3 American  
[dahn, dan] / dɑn, dæn /

noun

Martial Arts.

  1. a degree of expertise in karate, judo, tae kwon do, etc., usually signified by the wearing of a cloth belt of a particular color; level.

    a sixth-degree dan.
Dan. 4 American  

abbreviation

  1. Bible. Daniel.

  2. Danish. Also Dan

Dan 1 British  
/ dæn /

noun

    1. the fourth son of Jacob (Genesis 30:1–6)

    2. the tribe descended from him

  2. a city in the northern territory of Canaan

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Dan. 2 British  

abbreviation

  1. Bible Daniel

  2. Danish

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
dan 3 British  
/ dæn /

noun

  1. any one of the 10 black-belt grades of proficiency

  2. a competitor entitled to dan grading

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Dan 4 British  
/ dæn /

noun

  1. an archaic title of honour, equivalent to Master or Sir

    Dan Chaucer
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
dan 5 British  
/ dæn /

noun

  1. Also called: dan buoy.  a small buoy used as a marker at sea

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Dan2

1275–1325; Middle English < Old French danz < Medieval Latin domnus, contraction of Latin dominus “lord, master”

Origin of dan3

First recorded in 1940–45; from Japanese, from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese duàn “step, grade”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The decision to not impose tariffs related to critical minerals reinforces the reality that the U.S. doesn’t have the critical inputs for industries and military need and goes along with the more collaborative approach seen with China in recent months, says Dan McCarthy, a senior advisor at Veda Partners who previously worked in the U.S.

From Barron's

However, the Bureau of Street Services is planning to initiate new repaving projects as soon as possible, said Dan Halden, director of external relations.

From Los Angeles Times

“Put the write-downs together with a weak showing for its oil trading arm and the… final set of quarterly results before Meg O’Neill steps into the hotseat in April will be downbeat,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.

From Barron's

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives projects Tesla’s robo-taxis will expand to some 30 additional cities in 2026 and believes the self-driving opportunity for the company is worth a trillion dollars.

From Barron's

“Hamas proved to be much more resilient than most expected early in the war,” said Dan Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel during the Obama administration.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.