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dun

1
[ duhn ]
/ dÊŒn /
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See synonyms for: dun / dunned / dunning / duns on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), dunned, dun·ning.
to make repeated and insistent demands upon, especially for the payment of a debt.
noun
a person, especially a creditor, who duns another.
a demand for payment, especially a written one.
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Origin of dun

1
First recorded in 1620–30; origin obscure

Words nearby dun

dumpy level, dum spiro, spero, Dumuzi, dum vivimus, vivamus, Dumyat, dun, Duna, Dünaburg, Dunaj, Dunant, Dunărea

Other definitions for dun (2 of 2)

dun2
[ duhn ]
/ dÊŒn /
adjective
dull, grayish brown.
dark; gloomy.
noun
a dun color.
a dun-colored horse with a black mane and tail.
mayfly.
Angling. dun fly.

Origin of dun

2
before 1000; Middle English dun(ne), Old English dunn; cognate with Old Saxon dun

OTHER WORDS FROM dun

dunness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

Words related to dun

black, cloudy, darkened, dim, dingy, drab, dull, foggy, gloomy, misty, murky, overcast, shadowy, somber, cold, dark, dismal, flat, hazy, lifeless

How to use dun in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dun (1 of 2)

dun1
/ (dÊŒn) /
verb duns, dunning or dunned
(tr) to press or importune (a debtor) for the payment of a debt
noun
a person, esp a hired agent, who importunes another for the payment of a debt
a demand for payment, esp one in writing

Word Origin for dun

C17: of unknown origin

British Dictionary definitions for dun (2 of 2)

dun2
/ (dÊŒn) /
noun
a brownish-grey colour
a horse of this colour
angling
  1. an immature adult mayfly (the subimago), esp one of the genus Ephemera
  2. an artificial fly imitating this or a similar fly
adjective dunner or dunnest
of a dun colour
dark and gloomy

Word Origin for dun

Old English dunn; related to Old Norse dunna wild duck, Middle Irish doun dark; see dusk
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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