- a piece of writing or speech that says what somebody/something is like; the act of writing or saying in words what somebody/something is like
- Follow the link below for a more detailed description.
- description of somebody/something a brief description of the software
- The name means ‘no trees’ and it is an accurate description of the island.
- Police have issued a description of the gunman.
- This is a film that defies description (= is difficult or impossible to describe).
- the novelist’s powers of description
- beyond description a personal pain that goes beyond description (= is too great to express in words)
Extra ExamplesTopics Literature and writinga1- A report is generally an objective description rather than a statement of opinion.
- She gave us a lurid description of the birth.
- He was able to provide a description of the intruder.
- The catalogue gives a full description of each product.
- a vivid description of life in Ancient Rome
- ‘Scared stiff’ is an apt description of how I felt at that moment.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- complete
- comprehensive
- detailed
- …
- give (somebody)
- issue
- offer (somebody)
- …
- apply to somebody
- fit somebody
- of some, all, every, etc. description of some, etc. type
- In the bay were boats of every description.
- There were flying machines of all descriptions whizzing about.
- Their money came from trade of some description.
- The trunk was full of medals, coins and things of that description.
Word Originlate Middle English: via Old French from Latin descriptio(n-), from describere ‘write down’.
Idioms
See description in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee description in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishanswer/fit/match a description (of somebody/something)
- to be like a particular person or thing
- A child answering the description of the missing boy was found safe and well in London yesterday.
- We're all looking for quick, healthy meals, and pasta fits this description.
Extra Examples- A man fitting your description was seen entering the building.
- I realized to my horror that the description of the killer could fit me.
- Police have arrested two men matching the descriptions of the robbers.
beggar belief/description
- to be too extreme, horrible, etc. to believe/describe
- It beggars belief how things could have got this bad.
Check pronunciation:
description