Showing results for "dub"

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Slang dictionary results for dub.

dub

¹ American  

[duhb] / dʌb /

verb (used with object)

dubbed, dubbing

1. to invest with any name, character, dignity, or title; style; name; call.

   He was dubbed a hero.

2. to strike lightly with a sword in the ceremony of conferring knighthood; make, or designate as, a knight.

   The king dubbed him a knight.

3. to strike, cut, rub, or make smooth, as leather or timber.

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idioms

1. dub bright, to shave off the outer surface of the planking of (a ship).

dub ² American  

[duhb] / dʌb /

noun

Slang.

1. an awkward, unskillful person.

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dub ³ American  

[duhb] / dʌb /

verb (used with object)

dubbed, dubbing

1. to thrust; poke.

2. Golf. to hit (a ball) poorly; misplay (a shot).

3. to execute poorly.

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verb (used without object)

dubbed, dubbing

1. to thrust; poke.

noun

1. a thrust; poke.

2. a drumbeat.

dub ⁴ American  

[duhb] / dʌb /

verb (used with object)

dubbed, dubbing

1. to furnish (a film or tape) with a new soundtrack, especially one recorded in a different language.

2. to add (music, speech, etc.) to a film or tape recording (often followed byin ).

3. to copy (a tape or disc recording).

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verb (used without object)

dubbed, dubbing

1. to copy program material from one tape recording onto another.

noun

1. the new sounds added to a film or tape.

2. a style of popular music based on reggae and produced by remixing previously recorded music to which audio samples and sound effects are added.

verb phrase

1. dub out to omit or erase (unwanted sound) on a tape or soundtrack.

   to dub out background noise.

dub ⁵ American  

[duhb] / dʌb /

noun

Chiefly Scot.

1. a pool of water; puddle.

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dub ¹ British  

/ dʌb /

verb

1. to alter the soundtrack of (an old recording, film, etc)

2. (tr) to substitute for the soundtrack of (a film) a new soundtrack, esp in a different language

3. (tr) to provide (a film or tape) with a soundtrack

4. (tr) to alter (a taped soundtrack) by removing some parts and exaggerating others

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noun

1. films the new sounds added

2. 1. music a style of record production associated with reggae, involving the removal or exaggeration of instrumental parts, extensive use of echo, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a dub mix

dub ² British  

/ dʌb /

verb

1. (tr) to invest (a person) with knighthood by the ritual of tapping on the shoulder with a sword

2. (tr) to invest with a title, name, or nickname

3. (tr) to dress (leather) by rubbing

4. angling to dress (a fly)

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noun

1. the sound of a drum

dub ³ British  

/ dʌb /

noun

1. a clumsy or awkward person or player

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verb

1. to bungle (a shot), as in golf

dub ⁴ British  

/ dʌb /

verb

1. informal short for double-bank

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dub ⁵ British  

/ dʌb /

noun

1. dialect a pool of water; puddle

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dub ⁶ British  

/ dʌb /

verb

1. slang (intr; foll by in, up, or out) to contribute to the cost of (something); pay

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Usage

What else does dub mean? Dub has many meanings in English. It can variously mean "to nickname" and "to voice a film in a different language." It can be short for double and the letter W. It can be slang for a marijuana "joint", or $20 worth of drugs. Dub also refers to a popular genre of music derived from reggae.

Other Word Forms

• dubber
  noun

Etymology

Origin of dub¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English dubben, late Old English (assumed) dubbian (in phrase dubbade tō ridere “dubbed to knight(hood)”), from Anglo-French dubber, dobber, douber, shortened form of ad(o)uber, equivalent to prefix a- (from Latin ad- “to”) + do(u)ber, from Old Low Franconian (assumed) dubban “to strike, beat,” cognate with Low German dubben; see origin at a- ⁵ ( def. ), dub ³, daube

Origin of dub²

First recorded in 1885–90; of expressive origin, cf. flub, flubdub, dub ³

Origin of dub³

First recorded in 1505–15; apparently same word (with older sense) as dub ¹

Origin of dub⁴

First recorded in 1925–30; short for double

Origin of dub⁵

First recorded in 1490–1500; of obscure origin; perhaps akin to Middle Low German dobbe “pond, puddle”

Explanation

If your brother is obsessive about doing the laundry, then you might dub him the "Scion of the Spin Cycle" or the "Dean of Detergent," meaning you’ve given him a funny nickname that’s inspired by his personal quirks. The verb dub traces back to the French word adober, meaning “equip with armor,” and originally referred to making someone a knight. Dub still carries that meaning, although now it's more likely to describe the giving out of titles of a different kind. Use this word when you give someone a playful nickname or an unofficial title based on some notable characteristic the person has, like dubbing your sister the "Queen of Shoes."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dub dubbed dubbing

In the first two installments, Panettiere voiced the kind island kid turned princess Kairi for the games’ English dub.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

Financial advisers dub that “sequence of return risk.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

While one shows up at gigs and rave nights, the other is a bit more pub than dub.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

Lower-income countries have struggled through the 2020s, hit by a series of successive shocks that saw the World Bank earlier this year dub it a "lost decade" for their economic growth.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

Dance music is coming out loud from inside the dub.

From "Taste of Salt: A Story of Modern Haiti" by Frances Temple

A tiny snail found in only one lake in the UK has been dubbed as precious as an Egyptian artefact as conservationists bid to save it.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Michael B Sauer, then a 34-year-old volunteer firefighter, rushed to Ground Zero to help with search-and-rescue efforts, scouring what firefighters dubbed “the pile” for signs of life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

So much so, the New York Times dubbed him an art market “wunderkind.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

The Times newspaper called the exhibition a "spine-shivering experience" that has sparked "Tapestry-mania" in Britain, while The Economist dubbed it the "hottest ticket" around.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

One historian dubbed it the “Osage Monte Carlo.”

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Watching the stop-motion monsters climb over ruined walls to poke at Greece’s elite soldiers, it’s easy to forgive the movie for its less-than-stellar dubbing or borderline nonsensical love story.

From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026

The postings suggest the Disney, Netflix and Amazon studios are building repeatable AI workflows for visual effects, animation, sound and dubbing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

The White House reshared the images on its own X account, dubbing the new document a "patriot passport".

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026

He repaid the governor’s disdain by dubbing him “Mr. Hair Gel” in his memoir, “The Guy You Loved to Hate: Confessions from a Reality TV Villain.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

Baba burst out in gales of his deep- throated laughter—a sound not unlike a truck engine revving up—and, when he could talk again, explained to us the concept of voice dubbing.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

Related Words

• designate
• nickname