# DES

/ˈdɛs/ (US)

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

## Senses

### 1. short name

noun · CEFR A1 · Informal

a short or friendly way to say the name Desmond.

For teachers: A hypocoristic or shortened form of the masculine given name Desmond.

- Everyone at the office calls him Des instead of his full name.
- Des was widely regarded as the most experienced engineer on the team, having served the firm for over three decades.

### 2. medical drug

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

Stands for diethylstilbestrol, a synthetic hormone used in medicine.

For teachers: Abbreviation for diethylstilbestrol. A synthetic nonsteroidal estrogen that was historically prescribed to prevent pregnancy complications.

- Doctors stopped prescribing DES to pregnant women after they discovered it caused health problems.
- The long-term health effects on the children of women who were prescribed DES during the mid-twentieth century remain a significant medical concern.

### 3. computing security

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

Stands for Data Encryption Standard, a way to protect digital information.

For teachers: Abbreviation for Data Encryption Standard. A symmetric-key algorithm for the encryption of digital data, now largely superseded by AES.

- The old system used DES to protect passwords, but it is not secure enough today.
- Although DES was the industry standard for decades, its 56-bit key length eventually became vulnerable to brute-force attacks by modern hardware.

### 4. medical device

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

Stands for drug-eluting stent, a small tube used in heart surgery.

For teachers: Abbreviation for drug-eluting stent. A peripheral or coronary stent placed into narrowed, diseased arteries that slowly releases a drug to prevent scar tissue growth.

- The surgeon decided to use a DES to keep the patient's artery open.
- Clinical trials demonstrated that the DES significantly reduced the rate of restenosis compared to traditional bare-metal stents.

### 5. astronomy project

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

Stands for Dark Energy Survey, a project that maps the universe.

For teachers: Abbreviation for Dark Energy Survey. An international collaborative effort to map hundreds of millions of galaxies to better understand the nature of dark energy.

- Data from the DES helped scientists learn more about how the universe is growing.
- The DES utilised a high-resolution camera mounted on a telescope in Chile to capture images of the southern sky over five years.

## Examples

- Doctors stopped prescribing DES after learning about its dangerous side effects.
- Many women who were exposed to DES in the womb now require specialized medical screenings throughout their adult lives.
- The DES tragedy serves as a landmark case in medical ethics and pharmacology, highlighting the long-term risks of endocrine-disrupting chemicals administered during critical periods of fetal development.

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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.