noun
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a person or thing that proves ineffectual or a failure
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a shell, etc, that fails to explode
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old-fashioned (plural) clothes or other personal belongings
adjective
Etymology
Origin of dud
1815–25; special use of dud, singular of duds
Explanation
Something that doesn't work the way it's supposed to is a dud. A bomb or firework that doesn't explode is one kind of dud. A bad blind date is another kind. When a bomb fails to explode, it's a dud. A long-planned surprise party that fails miserably when the guest of honor doesn't show up is another kind of dud. You can also refer to a person as a dud, if they're an utter failure or a complete flop: "The lead actor was a total dud. He couldn't really sing or dance and he seemed nervous." In the 1800s, a dud was "a person in ragged clothing," from dudde, "cloak or mantle."
Vocabulary lists containing dud
Back-Words: Palindromes
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Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 3
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Scrabble: Palindrome 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.
After all, who wants to share a meal and spend hours with someone who might turn out to be a dud?
From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026
In a more confident, profitable environment, or when Hollywood is churning out films more regularly, a commercial dud might be easily absorbed.
From Barron's • May 11, 2026
So to say now, out loud, that you think he is a dud is a big deal.
From BBC • May 10, 2026
It is, as yet, a dud — a $2,000 slot machine that pays out a Community Note dressed as a verdict, in a process that compels nothing and binds no one.
From Salon • Apr. 23, 2026
It does not matter where it was— what does matter is dud Cochin was the castle where the now childless Elaine lived out her lonely middle age.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
