Meaning of diff in English

diff

noun

/dɪf/ us

/dɪf/

diff noun (DIFFERENCE)

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[ S ] informal

short for difference :

OK, I'm stupid. What's the diff between an en-dash and a hyphen?

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Very few people know it's not genuine. Tourists, especially, can't tell the diff.
The price of the hotel room makes a big diff if you are using it to work or staying a few days.
Yam, sweet potato, what's the diff ?
Previous results meant England had the better goal diff, and could progress with a draw.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Different and difference

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diff noun (COMPUTING)

[ C or U ] computing specialized

a computer program that can show the differences between computer files:

A diff of the two files will show the sequences that are invalid.

You can use the "diff" command to show differences between two files, or each corresponding file in two directories.

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Instead of using diff to compare the current password file with the saved version, the script uses comm twice.
Next time you try and view a diff of .doc files, it will launch this tool and you should be able to compare them.
For files that are identical, "diff" normally produces no output.

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Computer programming & software

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diff noun (IN VEHICLE)

[ C ] informal

short for differential gear :

The passenger seat rattled, and a wonky diff meant that in a slow right-angled turn the whole rear end juddered.

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I eventually bought an MX-5 with hard-top, limited slip diff, air conditioning and option package A for £8000.
This type of noise is often from a diff and travels down the tubular propshaft to sound as if it comes from the gearbox.

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Machines - parts

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diff

adjective

informal

/dɪf/ us

/dɪf/

short for different :

I told her that my previous salary was irrelevant because it was a totally diff job in a diff industry.

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I went out and got a lot of credit cards for diff stores.
I wanted to try at least 10 diff ways of cooking fish.
I always put all of those ingredients in, just in diff quantities.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Different and difference

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(Definition of diff from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of diff

diff

I dealt with recurrent c diff for 3 1/2 months.

From CNN

Just split it into 2 diff folders and compressed it.

From Huffington Post

There are thousands of patent applications that are just sitting there, and there are thousands denied and granted, for very diff reasons.

From ThinkProgress

What a diff 3 wins make 10:25 a.m.

From CNN

I am 69, female, generally healthy, and had not taken an antibiotic for about 15 years prior to the one that began my c diff odyssey.

From CNN

Asteroid, meteor, meteorite, what's the diff?

From TIME

Recent philosophical literature has perhaps underestimated the reasons for masking disagreement among scientifi c experts, albeit in very diff erent ways.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

For example, four diff erent molecules, each very diff erently shaped, smell of ambergris (which is actually the undigested and rancid vomit of whales).

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Several hundred diff erent kinds of scent receptors recognize diff erent molecular shapes.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

I have not yet said anything about standpoints and how they diff er from perspectives.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Democratic norms of free discourse, dissent, feedback, and accountability function to ensure collective, experimentally-based learning from the diverse experiences of diff erent knowers.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Moreover, molecules that are very diff erent in shape sometimes smell almost the same.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In fact, molecules that are similar in shape sometimes smell very diff erent.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of diff?