dot the i's and cross the t's
/ˌdɑt ði ˈaɪz ən ˌkɹɔs ðə ˈtiz/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.84 in modern English
31
Scrabble Score
21
Letters
1
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To take care of every detail, even minor ones; to be meticulous or thorough; to finish off something close to complete.
Example Sentences
- "Before taking the project to the CEO, let's make sure we dot the i's and cross the t's."
- "1858, United States Congress, Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856, D. Appleton, page 387; from a January 1820 debate Pray, sir, what is the object of referring a bill to a committee —merely to dot the i's and cross the t's?"
Etymology
In reference to cursive (joined up) writing, where adding the dot to the letter i and the crossbar to the letter t is done after one reaches the end of the word and thus may be forgotten if one is not being careful.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌdɑt ði ˈaɪz ən ˌkɹɔs ðə ˈtiz/
- British English: /ˌdɒt ði ˈaɪz ən ˌkɹɒs ðə ˈtiːz/
Inflected Forms
dots the i's and crosses the t's (present, singular)
dotting the i's and crossing the t's (participle, present)
dotted the i's and crossed the t's (participle, past)
dotted the i's and crossed the t's (past)
dot the i's (alternative)
dot one's i's and cross one's t's (alternative)
cross the t's and dot the i's (alternative)
cross the i's and dot the t's (alternative)