dais

noun

da·​is ˈdā-əs 

nonstandard

ˈdī- 

: a raised platform (as in a hall or large room)

Mounting the dais which had been set up for his use, he swirled the sinister cloak about him and sat down in the Abbot's chair.

—Brian Jacques

Synonyms of dais

• podium

Examples of dais in a Sentence

the speaker took his place at the front of the dais

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead of being somewhere in Detroit, strategizing with the coaching staff about adjustments for the next game in a playoff series with the Pistons, Jeff Peterson spent a portion of Monday morning on a dais. —Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 21 Apr. 2026

There were roses at Chloé, daises at Celine, and cornflowers at Stella McCartney. —Minty Mellon, Vogue, 21 Apr. 2026

Murphy then appeared on stage to a rollicking standing ovation and made his way to his place at the dais toward the back of the room. —Pete Hammond, Deadline, 19 Apr. 2026

Meanwhile, former City Councilmember Lucy Young, who did not secure enough votes to return to the dais, drew criticism on social media in recent weeks for various statements in support of the data center and its financial possibilities. —Kansas City Star, 14 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English deis, des "high table, elevated platform occupied by a court or council," borrowed from Anglo-French deis, dais (continental Old French deis "table of honor set up on a platform"), going back to Medieval Latin discus "raised table, platform," going back to Latin, "discus, kind of plate, gong," borrowed from Greek dískos "discus," in Late Greek also "dish, round mirror, the sun's disk, gong" — more at discus

Note: See note at dish entry 1. The predominant form in Middle French is dois, which should have resulted in Modern French [dwa]; the reason for the outcome dais [dɛ], with the presumed shift [dwɛ] to [dɛ], is in this, as in a number of parallel cases, unclear. As pointed out by the Oxford English Dictionary, first edition, the English word was, excepting Scots, out of use by 1600; the current word is an antiquarian revival, with the spelling presumably copying modern French.

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dais

• baize
• bays
• blase
• blaze
• braes
• braze
• chaise
• claes
• clays
• craze
• days
• daze

Kids Definition

dais

noun

da·​is ˈdā-əs 

: a raised platform (as in a large room)