domino

plural dominos · plural dominoes

1. dominoesA 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.First known use c. 1800

   Dominoes of indiscretions down Falling all around, in cycles, in circles Constantly consuming Conquer and devour

   2000, “The Hollow”, in Mer de Noms (hard rock, alternative metal), performed by A Perfect Circle

   2 more examples

   If a domino had four squares on its surface, it would be a tetromino. With five squares, it would be a pentomino—nine, a nonomino, eleven, an unwieldy undecomino!

   2011 October 15, Maki Kaji, The Big Book of Visual Sudoku, Workman Publishing Company, page 118

   The Mormon church's past anti-gay positions and its role in financing Proposition 8 – California's 2008 ban on same-sex marriage – may have been the first dominoes to fall around the faithful, but vetting Mitt Romney as a presidential candidate links the straightforward similarities between Mormonophobia and homophobia.

   2012 July 11, Tony Plakas, “Mitt's Mormon marriage march”, in Sun-Sentinel, archived from the original on 07 Dec 2025

2. governmentA country that is expected to react to events in a neighboring country, according to the domino effect.
3. A masquerade costume consisting of a hooded robe and a mask covering the upper part of the face.

   Then he hunted for the black carnival domino, supposing that it was the appropriate thing for a penitent to wear.

   1983, Lawrence Durrell, Sebastian (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 2004, page 1007

   3 more examples

   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.

   1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, Folio Society, published 1973, page 485

   The chair being announced, she fastened on her mask, and drew her domino round her, it not being her intention to display her splendid and fantastic costume till supper, when all the guests were expected to unmask.

   1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Masked Ball”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 175

   For this scene, a large number of supers are engaged, and in order to further swell the crowd, practically all the available stage hands have to ‘walk on’ dressed in various coloured dominoes, and all wearing masks.

   1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Affair at the Novelty Theatre”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020

   Synonyms: domino costume

4. The mask itself.

   He wore a domino, but beneath it could be seen his whiskers, cut after the English fashion, and long and pendent.

   1872, James De Mille, The Cryptogram, HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2009

   1 more example

   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.

   1954, Ian Fleming, “Table Z”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 57

   Synonyms: domino mask, half mask, eyemask

5. The person wearing the costume.
6. geometryA polyomino made up of two squares.

   Synonyms: 2-omino

7. colloquialentertainmentA 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 […]

   1932, The Musical Times and Singing-class Circular, page 263

8. in pluralslangA person's teeth.

   […] break your dominoes by grinding them that way.

   1892, Eugène Sue, The Mysteries of Paris, page 182

   1 more example

   Look here, you chaps, don't you chew it too quick, or you'll break your dominoes on the nails!

   1965, Henri Barbusse (tr. W. Fitzwater Wray), Under Fire (page 20)

present singular third person dominoes · participle present dominoing · participle past dominoed · past dominoed

1. intransitiveTo 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.

   2010, Ring of Fire: An Indonesian Odyssey, →ISBN, page 107

2. transitiveTo cause to collapse in the manner of dominoes.