# Dee

/ˈdi/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/dee
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. the letter D

noun · CEFR B2

the name of the letter 'D' or 'd' when you say it out loud.

For teachers: the phonetic name for the fourth letter of the Latin alphabet.

- The word 'dog' starts with a dee.
- The child carefully traced the curve of the uppercase dee, ensuring the vertical stroke was perfectly straight.

### 2. a D-shaped object

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

an object that has the shape of the letter 'D'.

For teachers: an object or component, such as a ring or a lock, characterized by a D-shaped profile.

- He attached the strap to the metal dee on his backpack.
- The harness was reinforced with heavy-duty steel dees to ensure the safety of the climber during the ascent.

### 3. a detective

noun · CEFR C2 · Slang

a slang word for a police detective.

For teachers: a slang term for a detective, often used in urban or criminal contexts.

- The street dealers vanished as soon as they spotted the dees.
- The informant was hesitant to speak, fearing that the dees were monitoring the phone booth from a distance.

## Examples

- The word 'dog' starts with a dee.
- The architect designed the garden path in the shape of a large capital dee.
- In older typeset manuals, the letter was occasionally referred to by its full name, dee, to avoid confusion with numerical digits in the margin.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.