Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Detail

De′tail

(dē′tāl or dē̍-tāl′; 277)
,
Noun.
[F.
détail
, fr.
détailler
to cut in pieces, tell in detail; pref.
dé-
(L.
de
or
dis-
) +
tailler
to cut. See
Tailor
.]
1.
A minute portion; one of the small parts; a particular; an item; – used chiefly in the plural;
as, the
details
of a scheme or transaction
.
The
details
of the campaign in Italy.
Motley.
2.
A narrative which relates minute points; an account which dwells on particulars.
3.
(Mil.)
The selection for a particular service of a person or a body of men; hence, the person or the body of men so selected.
Syn. – Account; relation; narrative; recital; explanation; narration.

De′tail

(dē̍-tāl′)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Detailed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Detailing
.]
[Cf. F.
détailler
to cut up in pieces, tell in detail. See
Detail
,
Noun.
]
1.
To relate in particulars; to particularize; to report minutely and distinctly; to enumerate; to specify;
as, he
detailed
all the facts in due order
.
2.
(Mil.)
To tell off or appoint for a particular service, as an officer, a troop, or a squadron.
Syn.
Detail
,
Detach
.
Detail respects the act of individualizing the person or body that is separated; detach, the removing for the given end or object.

Webster 1828 Edition


Detail

DETAIL

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To relate, report or narrate in particulars; to recite the particulars of; to particularize; to relate minutely and distinctly; as, he detailed all the facts in due order.
2.
To select, as an officer or soldier from a division, brigade, regiment or battalion.

DETAIL

,
Noun.
1.
A narration or report of particulars; a minute and particular account. He related the story in detail. He gave a detail of all the transactions.
2.
A selecting of officer or soldiers from the rosters.

Definition 2024


Detail

Detail

See also: detail, détail, and de-tail

German

Noun

Detail n (genitive Details, plural Details)

  1. detail

Declension

Synonyms

Derived terms

  • detailliert (detailed)
  • detailgenau, detailgetreu
  • detailreich (rich in detail)

Related terms

detail

detail

See also: Detail, détail, and de-tail

English

Noun

detail (countable and uncountable, plural details)

  1. (countable) Something small enough to escape casual notice.
    Note this fine detail in the lower left corner.
    We missed several important details in the contract.
  2. (uncountable) A profusion of details.
    • 2013 July 19, Timothy Garton Ash, Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 18:
      Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements.
    This etching is full of fine detail.
  3. Something considered trivial enough to ignore.
    I don't concern myself with the details of accounting.
  4. (countable) A person's name, address and other personal information.
    The arresting officer asked the suspect for his details.
  5. (military) A temporary unit or assignment.
  6. A part distinct from the whole.
    • 2013 June 7, Gary Younge, Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 18:
      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.
  7. A narrative which relates minute points; an account which dwells on particulars.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Verb

detail (third-person singular simple present details, present participle detailing, simple past and past participle detailed)

  1. (transitive) to explain in detail
    I'll detail the exact procedure to you later.
    • 2014, Ian Black, "Courts kept busy as Jordan works to crush support for Isis", The Guardian, 27 November 2014:
      It is a sunny morning in Amman and the three uniformed judges in Jordan’s state security court are briskly working their way through a pile of slim grey folders on the bench before them. Each details the charges against 25 or so defendants accused of supporting the fighters of the Islamic State (Isis), now rampaging across Syria and Iraq under their sinister black banners and sending nervous jitters across the Arab world.
  2. (transitive) (US (?)) to clean carefully (particularly a car) ([ˈdi(ː)teɪɫ])
    We need to have the minivan detailed.
  3. (transitive, military) to assign to a particular task

Derived terms

Synonyms

  • (to explain in detail): specify
  • (military: to assign to a particular task): detach

Translations

Anagrams


Czech

Pronunciation

Noun

detail m

  1. detail

Declension

Synonyms

Related terms


Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Hyphenation: de‧tail
  • Rhymes: -ɑi̯

Etymology

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

Noun

detail n (plural details, diminutive detailtje n)

  1. detail

Derived terms