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# dit

noun (a dit, dits); French word (dit); abbreviation-like fragment

«dit» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. In Morse code, «dit» is the spoken name of a short signal (a dot); «dah» is the long one (a dash). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dit/#m1)
2. (French) «Dit» is a French word meaning «said» or «says»: «il dit» means «he says», «c'est dit» means «that's settled»; to an English ear it sounds like «dee». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dit/#m2)
3. (UK navy slang) A dit is a story or yarn, as in «spin a dit». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dit/#m3)

### In the lessons

In science and history lessons on communication, children learn to send Morse code: S is «dit dit dit», O is «dah dah dah», so SOS is «dit dit dit, dah dah dah, dit dit dit». In French lessons «dit» appears in reading: «Le chat dit miaou». It is not a common everyday English word.

### Examples

- In Morse code, the letter E is just one dit. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dit/#x1)
- SOS is dit-dit-dit, dah-dah-dah, dit-dit-dit. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dit/#x2)
- We tapped dits and dahs on the desk. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dit/#x3)
- In French, «Maman dit non» means «Mum says no». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dit/#x4)
- The old sailor spun a dit about a storm at sea. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dit/#x5)
- A dit is short; a dah is three times as long. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dit/#x6)

### Note

As a Morse word, «dit» is a sound name for a dot, not a dictionary word most people use. The French «dit» is not an English word; the final «t» is silent. In Morse timing, a dah lasts as long as three dits.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «dit» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dit/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«dit» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/dit.html) on Mova free.