ditto

noun

1. 1

   That which was stated before, the aforesaid, the above, the same, likewise.

   [...] they entered a dismal-looking parlour, whose brick-red walls and ditto curtains were scantily lighted by a single lamp, though it was of the last new patent—[…]

   […]a spacious table in the centre, and a variety of smaller dittos in the corners:[…]

   Well say he's got the constitution of a dinosaur, recuperative powers ditto. And as we both know, I'm a bright young medic with a miraculous touch. Well why then, when I returned, there wasn't a trace of that wound on his forehead. Not even a bruise. It was like he had never been injured.

   The opening shot of "Crystal Skull" shows the playful side of director Steven Spielberg, who seems to have a weak spot for cute animals. See "AI Artificial Intelligence" for Exhibit A. Ditto for executive producer George Lucas. See "Return of the Jedi" for Exhibit B.

2. 2

   The ditto mark, 〃; a symbol, represented by two apostrophes, inverted commas, or quotation marks (" "), indicating that the item preceding is to be repeated.

3. 3

   historicalA suit of clothes of the same color throughout.

4. 4

   A copy made by (run off by) a ditto machine (especially, a worksheet thus reproduced).

   Please run off twenty-four dittos of this assignment for my students.

   Mr. Zappadia gave each student a ditto of a black-and-white cow.

5. 5

   A copy; an imitation.

   "You've got to look good to feel good," she announces, a ditto of television slogans.

   Last year, Argenta-Oreana blanked the Chiefs 23-0 in a second-round game Dee-Mack coach Jim McDonald said was "pretty much a ditto" of what transpired Saturday.

   The intent of the policy, she said, is "not to put everybody in a ditto environment," where all are expected to look and act exactly like all others.

adverb

1. 1

   As said before, likewise.

   The inflationary effect of injecting $1 billion into the economy could be dire; ditto the impact on the tumbling bolivar of treating foreign reserves as if they were the government's piggy-bank.

   Some of the players were concerned about what the future held for them – given that one of the measures involved Chelsea not being able to operate in the transfer market or offer new contracts. Ditto many members of staff.

verb

1. 1

   To repeat the aforesaid, the earlier action etc.

   The Communists believed that Prakasam, the Prime Minister, never tried to check the bureaucracy but dittoed every action of the corrupt officials and police.

2. 2

   To make a copy using a ditto machine.

   But they were all purple, Dittoed—worn, torn, stained with coffee.

   I was going to join a commune of my friends. I sort of issued a declaration of independence which I dittoed up and put in everybody's mail box in the department.

interjection

1. 1

   Used as an expression of agreement with what another person has said, or to indicate that what they have said equally applies to the person being addressed.

   I'm really busy today! —Ditto!

   "Besides, if I'm only a sort of thing in his dream, what are you, I should like to know?" "Ditto," said Tweedledum. "Ditto, ditto!" cried Tweedledee.

Forms

plural

dittos, dittoes

past tense

dittoed

past participle

dittoed

present participle

dittoing

third person singular

dittos