domino

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domino

/ˈdɒmɪnəʊ/ UK
/ˈdɑməˌnoʊ/ Atlantic Canada, US
/ˈdɒmɪˌnoʊ/ Canada, dialectal
/ˈdɔmɪnəʉ/ Australia
[ˈdɔ̟mənɐʉ] New Zealand

Rhymes with -ɒmɪnəʊ, -ɒmənəʊ

Where it comes from

1801, borrowed from French domino (1771), originally the term for a hooded garment, itself from Medieval Latin domino, oblique case of dominus (“lord, master”); compare Medieval Latin dominicale (“a kind of veil”). By surface analysis, di- + -omino.

noun dominos · dominoes

A tile divided into two squares, each having 0 to 6 (or sometimes more) dots or pips (as in dice), used in the game of dominoes. Dominoes of indiscretions down Falling all around, in cycles, in circles Constantly consuming Conquer and devour
A country that is expected to react to events in a neighboring country, according to the domino effect.
A masquerade costume consisting of a hooded robe and a mask covering the upper part of the face. all the women were desirous of having the bundle immediately opened; which operation was at length performed by little Betsy, with the consent of Mr Jones: and the contents were found to be a domino, a mask, and a masquerade ticket.
Similar: domino costume
The mask itself. The door behind the drums burst open and two huge negroes, naked except for gold loincloths, ran out on to the floor carrying between them, her arms round their necks, a tiny figure, swathed completely in black ostrich feathers, a black domino across her eyes.
Similar: domino mask, half mask, eyemask
The person wearing the costume.
A polyomino made up of two squares.
Similar: 2-omino
colloquial A mistake in performing. Any player is liable to make a 'domino' — that is to say, he goes wool-gathering and continues to play when everyone else has stopped. If he does so at a grown-up concert the fault is irredeemable […]
in plural, slang A person's teeth. […] break your dominoes by grinding them that way.

verb dominoes · dominoing · dominoed

intransitive To collapse in the manner of dominoes. A dismasting often means the dominoing of one mast into the other, down through the decks, cannoning the cargo through the hull below, and sinking the ship very quickly.
transitive To cause to collapse in the manner of dominoes.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: eye mask, half mask, card, knock-on, chain, mask, domain, realm, tile, domina, cascading, double-six, triomino, quatre, triominoes, deuce

Translations

Every language

noun block used in dominoes

Español	dominó
日本語	ドミノ domino
Português	dominó
Română	domino
Русский	кость kostʹ, костя́шка kostjáška, colloq. домино́шка dominóška

noun masquerade costume

Русский	домино́ dominó

noun mask

Русский	домино́ dominó

noun polyomino made up of two squares

Русский	домино́ dominó

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MLA

"domino." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/domino. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

domino. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/domino

Chicago

"domino." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/domino.

BibTeX

@misc{domino_2026,
  title = {domino},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/domino},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}