Ditto Definition & Meaning

American

British

Etymology

Examples

Synonyms ditto American [dit-oh] / ˈdɪt oʊ /

noun

plural

dittos

1. the aforesaid; the above; the same (used in accounts, lists, etc., to avoid repetition). do. ″.

2. another of the same.

3. Informal. a duplicate; copy.

adverb

1. as already stated; likewise.

verb (used with object)

dittoed, dittoing

1. to duplicate or repeat the action or statement of (another person).

2. to make a copy of, as by using a Ditto machine.

ditto British / ˈdɪtəʊ /

noun

1. do. the aforementioned; the above; the same. Used in accounts, lists, etc, to avoid repetition and symbolized by two small marks (ˌ) known as ditto marks , placed under the thing repeated

2. informal

   1. a duplicate

   2. ( as modifier )

      a ditto copy

"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

adverb

1. in the same way

"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

1. informal used to avoid repeating or to confirm agreement with an immediately preceding sentence

"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

verb

1. (tr) to copy; repeat

"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 ditto

First recorded in 1615–25; from Italian, variant of detto “said,” from Latin dictus, past participle of dīcere “to say”; dictum ( def. )

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.

For the first half of the 20th century, this need was addressed—sort of—via mimeographs and ditto machines.

From The Wall Street Journal

That Ellie is relentless has been made abundantly clear; ditto the fact that she is confused about her purpose in life.

From Los Angeles Times

“Mum didn’t teach them because she was out at work and Dad ditto, if he ever could cook!”

From Salon

Ditto the summer, ditto the autumn, and yes, ditto the winter.

From BBC

And they will continue to behave as such until it physically can't be in the spring, but in the summer… and ditto the autumn, and, yes, the winter.

From BBC

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.