dude
Americannoun
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dudes
plural
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a man excessively concerned with his clothes, grooming, and manners.
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Slang
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a fellow; chap.
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(a general term of address used to a man, woman, or group).
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a person reared in a large city.
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Western U.S. an urban Easterner who vacations on a ranch.
interjection
verb phrase
noun
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a city dweller, esp one holidaying on a ranch
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a dandy
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a person: often used to any male in direct address
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of dude
An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; origin uncertain
Explanation
Dude is a slang greeting term between men, meaning "guy" or "man." For example: "Dude! So, like, what's up?" It's been popularized by movies and TV shows, and has a distinctive whiff of American West Coast hippie culture to it. In the American nineteenth century dude had another life as a term for a dandy — a particularly well-groomed and fancily-dressed young man. From this came the term of dude as meaning a big city dweller unfamiliar with the ways of the Wild West. When such types came out West to enjoy the rugged life, they stayed in "dude ranches," basically resorts or spas, not real working ranches, and the term is still around today.
Vocabulary lists containing dude
Least Presidential Vocabulary Used by Presidential Candidates during the GOP Debate (Sept. 16, 2015)
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Ben Zimmer's 30 Great American Words
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
For the record, Meyer considers herself both a cat and a dog person — “I’m just an animal dude overall,” she says — but felt cats worked better for the story.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Then he moved back to California to open a dude ranch that he called Hidden Valley—and he brought the recipe with him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
And I’m like, dude, that’s not how language works.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
"Look at you rocking that moustache, dude," Armstrong says on a video call.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
Some white dude is hiking through a rain forest somewhere in Central America.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
The cast reunited one last time for a homage to the opening of the first “Jackass” movie in which the dudes barreled down a hill in an oversize, runaway shopping cart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
Trump and Sean “Diddy” Combs have been known acquaintances for years—or whatever it’s called when two rich and famous dudes in entertainment are often invited to the same charity events, galas, and afterparties.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
“We had some of the baddest dudes in baseball — not only in Sacramento, but in baseball. We were proud of that,” Baker said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
Referring to the synthetic soldier, Justine Moore, an AI-focused partner at Silicon Valley investor Andreessen Horowitz, wrote on X: "I'm genuinely floored by how many dudes are following influencers that are clearly AI."
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
“You can’t tell by my car that I got stacks in the bank. I’m not gonna be one of those dudes rollin’ up in no BMW and still live in their mama’s basement.
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
