diff

plural diffs

1. abbreviationclippingcountableslanguncountableClipping of difference

   A peach and an apricot? What's the diff?

   1 more example

   MrX provided close to 100 diffs presented in a lengthy brief divided into sections.

   2024 August 29, Ashley Rindsberg, “How Wikipedia Launders Regime Propaganda”, in Pirate Wires, archived from the original on 29 Aug 2024

2. abbreviationclippingcountableuncountablemathematicsClipping of differential

   This function takes that diff and plugs it into the larger structure.

   1 more example

   [Pogo:] A woman outthunk is a woman scorned and you know what's got no fury like that! [...] Mus' I tell you? It's Sunday. [Albert:] What's the diff? Tell away. [Pogo, whispering:] Hell.

   1960 March 13, Walt Kelly, Pogo, Sunday, comic strip, →ISBN, page 277

3. countableslanguncountablevideo gamesUsed to trash-talk an opposing team at the end of a game by pointing out a skill difference between some role and the same role on the other team.

   tank diff (i.e., the deciding factor in the game was the difference in skill between the teams' tank players)

4. countableuncountablecomputingAny program which compares two files or sets of files and outputs a description of the differences between them.
5. countableuncountablecomputingThe output of a diff program, a diff file.

   edit diff

   1 more example

   I didn't want to waste people's time telling them things they already knew. It's more efficient just to give them the diffs.

   2004, Paul Graham, Great Hackers, Essay

6. abbreviationcountableuncountableautomotiveAbbreviation of differential: the differential gear in an automobile.

   This diff is capable of locking up when wheel slip occurs.

   1 more example

   Many operators cursed the early diff and driveline set-ups[.]

   2000, Bob Foster, Birdum or Bust!, Henley Beach, SA: Seaview Press, page 45

7. abbreviationcountableuncountablemedicineAbbreviation of differential: differential of types of white blood cell in a complete blood count.

   CBC with diff

   1 more example

   Hemoccult emesis and stool, CBC with diff, PT/PTT, type and cross for PRBCs.

   2006, “Gastroenterology: Esophageal Varices”, in Steven E. Diaz, The Little Black Book of Emergency Medicine (Jones and Bartlett's Little Black Book Series), 2nd edition, Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, →ISBN, page 103

8. countableuncountableclimbingA difficult route.
9. abbreviationclippingcountableslanguncountablelifestyleClipping of difficulty.

present singular third person diffs · participle present diffing · participle past diffed · past diffed

1. transitivecomputingTo run a diff program on (files or items) so as to produce a description of the differences between them, as for a patch file.

   As we move through this chapter, you will quickly see the benefits of diffing code changes to drivers, libraries, and applications.

   2011, Gray Hat Hacking : The Ethical Hacker's Handbook, 3rd edition, New York: McGraw-Hill, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 484

2. transitivecomputingTo compare two files or other objects, manually or otherwise.
3. slangtransitivelifestyleTo win (or to be able to win) a fight against another, with a defined level of difficulty. Usually used when power scaling fictional characters.

   Fraubull gets wifi diffed by Shanks while Doffy easily broke free from Aokiji freeze and left with a smile.

   2026 July 30, u/RPH626, Reddit

1. abbreviationnot comparableAbbreviation of different.

   Is there a way to tell it to pick a diff one by default?

   2006 August 25, jes.t.er, “Character names”, in alt.games.warcraft (Usenet)

   1 more example

   I don't think it's any diff then in grade school when someone said "come on take a drag it will make you look cool"

   2000 August 15, ZedMan2K, “Anti-Leiberman Backlash Already”, in alt.religion.christian.baptist (Usenet)

1. computingA program, historically part of the Unix operating system, which compares two files or sets of files and outputs a description of the differences between them.