dado

IPA/ˈdeɪdəʊ/
KK[dˈedˌo]IPA/ˈdeɪdəʊ/

dado — noun

  • dadosingular
  • dadoesplural

1. The bottom section of a room wall, from the floor up to about waist height. Home

1.nounB2
Definition

The bottom section of a room wall, from the floor up to about waist height. Homeowners often paint, paper, or panel this area differently from the wall above.

Example

Yumi painted the dado a dark green and the wall above it a light cream.

The old house had a wooden dado running along the dining room walls.

dado + running along + wall location

Common collocations
  • wooden dado
  • painted dado
  • dado height
  • above the dado
  • below the dado
  • dado panel
Synonyms
  • wainscoting

    refers specifically to wooden panelling covering the lower wall, not just any different finish

  • skirting board

    only the lowest strip where the wall meets the floor, not the whole lower wall section

Usage Note

In interior design contexts, the term often appears in descriptions of period or traditional homes. The dado and the wall above it are usually treated as separate decorative zones.

2. A narrow, horizontal strip of wood or plastic fixed around a room at waist heigh

2.nounB2
Definition

A narrow, horizontal strip of wood or plastic fixed around a room at waist height, forming the boundary between the lower wall finish and the wall above.

Example

Rodrigo fixed the dado rail at exactly waist height around the room.

dado rail + fix at + height

The dado rail in the hotel lobby was made of polished mahogany.

Common collocations
  • dado rail height
  • install a dado rail
  • wooden dado rail
  • plastic dado rail
  • paint the dado rail
Synonyms
  • chair rail

    the American English term for the same decorative strip

Usage Note

Commonly called simply 'dado rail' or 'chair rail'. Particularly frequent in UK home-improvement contexts. In the US the term 'chair rail' is more common for the same feature.

Common Mistakes

They installed a dado rail to protect the ceiling.
They installed a dado rail to protect the lower wall from chair damage.
A dado rail runs at waist height, not ceiling level.

3. A long, flat-bottomed groove running across a board. A second piece of wood fits

3.nounC1
Definition

A long, flat-bottomed groove running across a board. A second piece of wood fits inside this groove, forming a tight joint between the two parts.

Example

Ilan cut a dado along the shelf board to hold the dividers in place.

cut a dado + along + board

The carpenter measured the depth of the dado three times before sawing.

Common collocations
  • cut a dado
  • dado depth
  • dado joint
  • router dado
  • saw dado
Synonyms
  • housing

    British woodworking term for a dado joint

Usage Note

In woodworking, a dado is cut across the grain, while a 'groove' runs with the grain. The depth is usually one-third to one-half of the board thickness.

Common Mistakes

Cut a groove across the grain.
Cut a dado across the grain.
A groove runs with the grain; a dado runs across the grain.

dado — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Dado, wainscoting, skirting board, and chair rail all relate to the lower portion of a wall, but they refer to different features. A dado is the lower section of a wall treated with a different finish — paint, wallpaper, or panels — generally from floor to waist height. Wainscoting specifically describes wooden panelling covering that area, often with a decorative raised or flat pattern. Skirting board is the narrow strip at the very bottom where the wall meets the floor, serving as a trim. Chair rail is a horizontal moulding fixed at waist height, equivalent to a dado rail; in American English it is the more common term. For example, a room might have white skirting boards, a wooden wainscoting dado up to a chair rail, and plain paint above.

dado ↗wainscoting ↗skirting boardchair rail

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • dado joint
  • dado blade
  • dado rail

Prepositions

Etymology

ItalianLatinEnglish

The word 'dado' comes from Italian 'dado', meaning 'die' or 'cube', referring to the cubical block forming the base of a column or pedestal in classical architecture. In the 17th century, English adopted it first as an architectural term for that pedestal part, and later it extended to describe the lower part of a room wall decorated differently from the rest — since both the pedestal base and the wall dado occupy the lower section of a structure. The woodworking sense (a rectangular groove) developed later from the idea of a precise, squared recess.

First known use

1664

1664, in the meaning defined at sense 1a Verb