details


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detail
top: a painting of the Chateau of Chillon by William Baptiste Baird (1847-1899?)
bottom:a detail of the same painting
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detail

de·tail

 (dĭ-tāl′, dē′tāl′)
n.
1. An individual part or item; a particular: discussed the details of the proposal.
2. Particulars considered individually and in relation to a whole: careful attention to detail.
3. A minor or an inconsequential item or aspect; a minutia: skipped the details to get to the main point.
4. A minute or thorough treatment or account: went into detail about his travels.
5.
a. A discrete part or portion of a work, such as a painting, building, or decorative object, especially when considered in isolation.
b. A representation of such a part or portion: a detail of a Rembrandt portrait illustrating the technique of chiaroscuro.
6.
a. A small elaborated element of a work of art, craft, or design.
b. Such elements considered together: the intricate detail of a rococo altarpiece.
c. The rendering of artistic detail: the fine detail of the painter's brushwork.
7.
a. A group of military personnel assigned to a particular duty, usually a fatigue duty.
b. The duty assigned: garbage detail.
tr.v. (dĭ-tāl′) de·tailed, de·tail·ing, de·tails
1. To report or relate explicitly or in particulars: detailed the charges against the defendant.
2. To provide with artistic or decorative detail: detailed the quilt with colorful appliqué.
3. To assign to a particular duty: "The musicians and other non-combatants were detailed to carry the stretchers" (Peter Cozzens).
4. To clean (a car interior, for example) meticulously.
5. To market to (a physician) the drugs sold by one's company,
Idiom:
in detail
With attention to particulars; thoroughly or meticulously: explained her proposal in detail.

[French détail, from Old French detail, a piece cut off, from detaillir, to cut up : de-, de- + tailler, taillier, to cut; see tailor.]

de·tail′er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

detail

details
1. 'detail'

A detail is an individual feature or element of something.

I can still remember every single detail of that night.
He described it down to the smallest detail.
2. 'details'

If you obtain details of something, you obtain information about it.

You can get details of nursery schools from the local authority.
Further details are available online.

Be Careful!
Don't say that you obtain 'detail' of something.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.details - true confidential informationdetails - true confidential information; "after the trial he gave us the real details"
info, information - a message received and understood
low-down, the skinny, dope - slang terms for inside information; "is that the straight dope?"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
Collins Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
From those early impressions, the grand enterprise of the great fur companies, and the hazardous errantry of their associates in the wild parts of our vast continent, have always been themes of charmed interest to me; and I have felt anxious to get at the details of their adventurous expeditions among the savage tribes that peopled the depths of the wilderness.
The maliciousness of the cardinal did not leave much for the ambassador to say; nevertheless, the word "restoration" had struck the king, who, addressing the comte, upon whom his eyes had been fixed since his entrance, -- "Monsieur," said he, "will you have the kindness to give us some details concerning the affairs of England.
The sun had climbed the eastern sky and was making all details clear.
Also, I would have written an account of the ceremony, but that there will be no one to report to me the details. .
I am trying to be as lucid as I can in presenting this obscure matter to you without details."
He got in all the details, and that is a good thing in a local item: you see, he had kept books for the undertaker- department of his church when he was younger, and there, you know, the money's in the details; the more details, the more swag: bearers, mutes, candles, prayers -- everything counts; and if the bereaved don't buy prayers enough you mark up your candles with a forked pencil, and your bill shows up all right.
What would Sonya and the count and countess have done, how would they have looked, if nothing had been done, if there had not been those pills to give by the clock, the warm drinks, the chicken cutlets, and all the other details of life ordered by the doctors, the carrying out of which supplied an occupation and consolation to the family circle?
If he could but learn the details of this plan, thought De Vac: the point of landing of the foreign troops; their numbers; the first point of attack.
She, his Dolly, forever fussing and worrying over household details, and limited in her ideas, as he considered, was sitting perfectly still with the letter in her hand, looking at him with an expression of horror, despair, and indignation.
"So, not to go into too many details," went on the professor, "I'll just give you a brief outline of this story of the idol of gold.
For forty years together it will remember its injury down to the smallest, most ignominious details, and every time will add, of itself, details still more ignominious, spitefully teasing and tormenting itself with its own imagination.
All the details that we have met with, prove him to be no ordinary man.