de·tail

(dĭ-tāl′, dē′tāl′)

1. An individual part or item; a particular: discussed the details of the proposal.

2. Particulars considered individually and in relation to a whole: careful attention to detail.

3. A minor or an inconsequential item or aspect; a minutia: skipped the details to get to the main point.

4. A minute or thorough treatment or account: went into detail about his travels.

a. A discrete part or portion of a work, such as a painting, building, or decorative object, especially when considered in isolation.

b. A representation of such a part or portion: a detail of a Rembrandt portrait illustrating the technique of chiaroscuro.

a. A small elaborated element of a work of art, craft, or design.

b. Such elements considered together: the intricate detail of a rococo altarpiece.

c. The rendering of artistic detail: the fine detail of the painter's brushwork.

a. A group of military personnel assigned to a particular duty, usually a fatigue duty.

b. The duty assigned: garbage detail.

tr.v. (dĭ-tāl′) de·tailed, de·tail·ing, de·tails

1. To report or relate explicitly or in particulars: detailed the charges against the defendant.

2. To provide with artistic or decorative detail: detailed the quilt with colorful appliqué.

3. To assign to a particular duty: "The musicians and other non-combatants were detailed to carry the stretchers" (Peter Cozzens).

4. To clean (a car interior, for example) meticulously.

5. To market to (a physician) the drugs sold by one's company,

Idiom:

in detail

With attention to particulars; thoroughly or meticulously: explained her proposal in detail.

[French détail, from Old French detail, a piece cut off, from detaillir, to cut up : de-, de- + tailler, taillier, to cut; see tailor.]

de·tail′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

detail

– details

1. 'detail'

A detail is an individual feature or element of something.

I can still remember every single detail of that night.

He described it down to the smallest detail.

2. 'details'

If you obtain details of something, you obtain information about it.

You can get details of nursery schools from the local authority.

Further details are available online.

Be Careful!
Don't say that you obtain 'detail' of something.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

details - true confidential information; "after the trial he gave us the real details"

inside information

info, information - a message received and understood

low-down, the skinny, dope - slang terms for inside information; "is that the straight dope?"

Translations

particulares