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dodge

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Dodge

English

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Etymology

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Likely from dialectal dodge, dod, dodd (“to jog, trudge along, totter", also "to jerk, jig”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from unrecorded Middle English *dodden, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dud- (“to move”), related to Old English dydrian, dyderian (“to delude, deceive”), Middle English dideren (“to tremble, quake, shiver”), English dodder, Norwegian dudra (“to tremble”).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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dodge (third-person singular simple present dodges, present participle dodging, simple past and past participle dodged)

  1. (transitive, intransitive) To avoid (something) by moving suddenly out of the way.
    He dodged traffic crossing the street.
    • 2019 March 6, Drachinifel, 26:48 from the start, in The Battle of Samar (Alternate History) - Bring on the Battleships!‎[1], archived from the original on 20 July 2022:
      But that was only the start, because the Fletchers - (obviously) carrying two torpedo launchers - were only launching half-salvos, so one full wave of torpedoes had driven off the cruisers after having savaged the destroyers, aaand then it was a case of, well, here come twenty-five destroyers, here comes[sic] two hundred and fifty torpedoes, hello Japanese battleships, dodge this!
  2. (transitive, figuratively) To avoid; to sidestep.
    The politician dodged the question with a meaningless reply.
    • 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal Combustion‎[2]:
      The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and embodied the struggle over wood.
  3. (archaic, transitive, intransitive) To go, or cause to go, hither and thither.
    • 1862, George Borrow, Wild Wales:
      Or if a footpad asks him for his money, what need he care provided he has an umbrella? He threatens to dodge the ferrule into the ruffian’s eye, and the fellow starts back and says, “Lord, sir! I meant no harm. […]
  4. (photography, videography) To decrease the exposure for certain areas of an image in order to make them darker.
    Coordinate term: burn
  5. (transitive) To follow by dodging, or suddenly shifting from place to place.
  6. (transitive, intransitive, dated) To trick somebody.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun

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dodge (plural dodges)

  1. An act of dodging.
  2. A trick, evasion or wile. (Now mainly in the expression tax dodge.)
  3. (slang) A line of work.
    • 1992, Time, volume 140, numbers 1-9, page 74:
      In the marketing dodge, that is known as rub-off.
    • 2009, Chris Knopf, Head Wounds, page 233:
      Through a series of unconventional circumstances, some my fault, Jackie had found herself working both civil and criminal sides of the real estate dodge, which put her among a rare breed of attorney […]

Derived terms

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Translations

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Adjective

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dodge (comparative more dodge, superlative most dodge)

  1. (Australia, British, colloquial) Dodgy.
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