Detail /(dē"tāl [or] dē̇*tāl"; 277)/

De·tail

Detail

n.
  1. A minute portion; one of the small parts; a particular; an item; -- used chiefly in the plural; as, the details of a scheme or transaction.
    The details of the campaign in Italy.
  2. A narrative which relates minute points; an account which dwells on particulars.
  3. The selection for a particular service of a person or a body of men; hence, the person or the body of men so selected. (Mil.)
  4. A minor part, as, in a building, the cornice, caps of the buttresses, capitals of the columns, etc., or (called larger details) a porch, a gable with its windows, a pavilion, or an attached tower. (Arch. & Mach.)

Phrases & Compounds
Detail drawing
a drawing of the full size, or on a large scale, of some part of a building, machine, etc.
In detail
in subdivisions; part by part; item by item; circumstantially; with particularity.

Detail

v. t.

imp. & p. p. Detailed; p. pr. & vb. n. Detailing

  1. To relate in particulars; to particularize; to report minutely and distinctly; to enumerate; to specify; as, he detailed all the facts in due order.
  2. To tell off or appoint for a particular service, as an officer, a troop, or a squadron. (Mil.)
  3. To provide with fine or intricate added decoration.