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View synonyms for dice

dice

[ dahys ]

plural noun

singular die.
  1. small cubes of plastic, ivory, bone, or wood, marked on each side with one to six spots, usually used in pairs in games of chance or in gambling.
  2. any of various games, especially gambling games, played by shaking and throwing from two to six dice or poker dice onto a flat surface. Compare craps.
  3. any small cubes.
  4. Auto Racing. a jockeying for lead position between two or more drivers in which tactics are used to pass or keep from being passed.


verb (used with object)

diceddicing
  1. to cut into small cubes.
  2. to decorate with cubelike figures.
  3. to lose by gambling with dice (often followed by away ).

verb (used without object)

diceddicing
  1. to play at dice.
  2. to cause or bring about by gambling with dice.
  3. Auto Racing. to duel with another car or cars in a dice.

dice

/ daɪs /

plural noun

  1. cubes of wood, plastic, etc, each of whose sides has a different number of spots (1 to 6), used in games of chance and in gambling to give random numbers
  2. Also calleddie functioning as singular one of these cubes
  3. small cubes as of vegetables, chopped meat, etc
  4. no dice slang.
    an expression of refusal or rejection
“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. to cut (food, etc) into small cubes
  2. intr to gamble with or play at a game involving dice
  3. intr to take a chance or risk (esp in the phrase dice with death )
  4. informal.
    tr to abandon or reject
  5. tr to decorate or mark with dicelike shapes
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈdicer, noun
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Other Words From

  • dicer noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of dice1

1300–50; Middle English dees, dis, dyce (singular and plural), dyces (plural) < Old French de(i)z, dés (plural); die 2
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Word History and Origins

Origin of dice1

C14: plural of die ²
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. no dice, Informal. of no use or help; ineffective.

More idioms and phrases containing dice

see load the dice ; no deal (dice) .
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Example Sentences

That raises the question of whether certain players in the Syrian drama concluded that the time to roll the dice on “sudden political change” had arrived, and who might benefit most from this disruption.

From Salon

Two of the clubs in the Premier League decided to roll the dice on Sunday by sacking their managers.

From BBC

Just last year, municipalities in Wisconsin and North Carolina broke tied elections with a roll of dice and a coin toss, respectively.

The dried apricots and figs should be quartered, and the apple diced to a similar size.

From Salon

“Going to the mines is a roll of the dice,” she says.

From BBC

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What Is The Plural Of Dice?

Plural word for dice

Dice is the plural form of the singular noun die, referring to a small cube of plastic, ivory, or other material, marked on each side with one to six spots. The more standard English plural form dies is used for other senses of the word die but not for the small cube. 

Dice derives directly from this irregular noun’s original pluralization in Middle English. 

Dice is sometimes treated as both a singular and plural form of die. The singular die is less commonly used.

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.

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