to dash down
1
4.4
- phrasal verb
- /dæʃ daʊn/
Examples
-
Matt dashed down the hall.
Fiction book (2002) -
She dashed down the stairs, nearly falling in her haste and shouting to Lexa.
Fiction book (1996) -
During the meeting, he quickly dashed down some notes to remember the main points.
-
She dashed down the important details of the recipe before forgetting them.
-
I often dash down ideas for my book in a notebook when inspiration strikes.
Synonyms
538
1.1
Put information on paper to help you remember it later
57
2.4
To write something so you do not forget it
39
3.9
To write something quickly as a short note
33
2.9
To write a short note quickly to remember something
31
3.4
To write something down on paper or a screen
4
4.4
To write something quickly without much care
2
5.1
To write something quickly without much care
1
7.3
To write something quickly without much effort
To type notes or information on a computer keyboard
How Quickly
52
3.5
1
4.4
- Informal
33
2.9
538
1.1
5
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
dash + down
The verb 'dash' clearly conveys quickness, so a learner can infer that the action is done rapidly; however neither 'dash' (to rush) nor 'down' (direction/completion) alone specifies the act of writing or recording. Because the rapidity is predictable from the parts but the specific meaning 'to write down' requires knowledge of phrasal patterns like 'write down' or 'jot down', the expression is only partially predictable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Dash down comes from the image of quickly making a dash across a page. When you dash a mark down to catch an idea, it is fast and a bit careless, so the phrase means 'to write down something quickly and without much care'.