dumb

American  

[duhm] / dʌm /

adjective

• dumber,
  comparative
• dumbest
  superlative

1. lacking intelligence or good judgment; stupid; dull-witted.

2. lacking the power of speech (offensive when applied to humans).

   a dumb animal.

3. temporarily unable to speak.

   dumb with astonishment.

4. refraining from any or much speech; silent.

5. made, done, etc., without speech.

6. lacking some usual property, characteristic, etc.

7. performed in pantomime; mimed.

8. Computers. pertaining to the inability to do processing locally.

   A dumb terminal can input, output, and display data, but cannot process it.

9. Nautical.

   1. (of a barge) without means of propulsion.

   2. (of any craft) without means of propulsion, steering, or signaling.

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verb phrase

1. dumb down to make or become less intellectual, simpler, or less sophisticated.

   to dumb down a textbook; American movies have dumbed down.

dumb British  

/ dʌm /

adjective

1. lacking the power to speak, either because of defects in the vocal organs or because of hereditary deafness

2. lacking the power of human speech

   dumb animals

3. temporarily lacking or bereft of the power to speak

   struck dumb

4. refraining from speech; uncommunicative

5. producing no sound; silent

   a dumb piano

6. made, done, or performed without speech

7. informal

   1. slow to understand; dim-witted

   2. foolish; stupid See also dumb down

8. (of a projectile or bomb) not guided to its target

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Sensitivity

Dumb in the sense “lacking the power of speech” is perceived as insulting when describing humans (but not animals), probably because dumb also means “stupid; dull-witted.” The noun dummy in the sense “person who lacks the power of speech” is also perceived as insulting, as are the terms deaf-and-dumb, deaf-mute, and mute. The adjective hard of hearing is acceptable though not the term of choice, partly because it lacks directness. The preferred term is deaf, which makes no reference to an inability to speak or communicate; the capitalized word Deaf signals membership in this community.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dumbness
  noun
• quasi-dumb
  adjective
• dumbly
  adverb
• quasi-dumbly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• dumber
  comparative
• dumbest
  superlative

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Etymology

Origin of dumb

First recorded before 1000; Old English; cognate with Old Norse dumbr, Gothic dumbs, Old Saxon dumb, Old High German tump, German dumm

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Explanation

Today, most of the time someone or something is described as dumb when it shows a lack of thought, like your dumb idea of wearing flip-flops in a snowstorm. Dumb is the Old English word that means "mute, speechless," and itself came from an even older word dheubh meaning "confusion, stupefaction, dizziness." Today, dumb still means "unable to speak," but it doesn't have anything to do with intelligence. Its other meaning, however, does. If you make a dumb mistake, it's something you could have avoided if you thought it through first.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dumb dumber dumbest

“You would instead concede that dogs are unpredictable, so it was dumb to attach something dangerous to one.”

From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2026

Brick, the startup behind a $59 gray plastic square that turns smartphones into dumb phones with a Near Field Communication-enabled tap, has developed something of a cult following three years after its launch.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

I think the second one was just as dumb as the first one.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

They also mean management won’t be tempted to spend it on something dumb.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

On the upstairs landing we discover something called a dumbwaiter, which, upon inspection, is not dumb at all.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Advertising student Catalina Cruz, 19, thinks AI is "making us dumber" because "people aren't able to think for themselves any more".

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

My anxiety about A.I. is not that it will make my job obsolete but that it will make me a little dumber.

From Slate ● May 24, 2026

An interesting research question for future generations of economics doctoral students would be whether publishing quarterly forecasts actually makes the Fed dumber.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026

That didn’t stop him from getting dumber ever since.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2026

As soon as it came out, he was sure he couldn’t have possibly said anything dumber.

From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner

This was easily the dumbest head coaching call of McVay’s career.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

The dumbest phrase in military history is Adolf Hitler saying “Let’s attack Russia in the winter.”

From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026

NBA legend Charles Barkley branded the San Antonio Spurs "the dumbest basketball team in the history of civilisation" after the New York Knicks pulled off the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

A spoof is only as successful as its dumbest joke, and these two films have plenty to choose from.

From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026

Audrey had this way of making you feel like the dumbest person in the room.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

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Related Words

• dull
• foolish

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