Ditto Meaning
/ˈdɪtəʊ/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThat which was stated before, the aforesaid, the above, the same, likewise.
nounThe ditto mark, 〃; a symbol, represented by two apostrophes, inverted commas, or quotation marks (" "), indicating that the item preceding is to be repeated.
Sentence Examples
You say "ditto", and that's not the same as "I love you".
She accidentally printed out a ditto.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Please make a ____ of this report for each team member.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
When asked if she wanted to go to the movies, she said ____ to show her agreement with her friend's suggestion.
Word Origin & History
First attested in 1625. From regional Italian ditto, variant of detto, past participle of dire (“to say”), from Latin dīcō (“to say, to speak”). Not related to English dittography. The specific meaning of making copies of paper comes from ditto machine, a genericization from the brand name of a spirit duplicator.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[...] 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—[…]"
— 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XIV, in Romance and Reality. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 127:
"[…]a spacious table in the centre, and a variety of smaller dittos in the corners:[…]"
— 1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “Comprising a Brief Description of the Company at the Peacock Assembled; and a Tale Told by a Bagman”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC, page 134:
"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."
— 1967, Star Trek, The Alternative Factor, season 1, episode 27, DeForest Kelley (actor):
"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."
— 2008 May 22, “New 'Indiana' film whips up plenty of thrills”, in Hudson (MA) MetroWest Daily News:
"He has created for himself a honed, primed-for-victory body and is working hard on a ditto mind."
— 2009 July 3, “Andy Murray: easy to admire, but can we learn to love him?”, in Times Online:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Please make a ____ of this report for each team member.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
When asked if she wanted to go to the movies, she said ____ to show her agreement with her friend's suggestion.