dun

[ duhn ]

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.

Origin of dun

First recorded in 1620–30; origin obscure

Words Nearby dun

Other definitions for dun (2 of 2)

dun²

[ duhn ]

adjective

dull, grayish brown.
dark; gloomy.

noun

a dun color.
a dun-colored horse with a black mane and tail.

mayfly (def. 1).
Angling. dun fly.

Origin of dun

First recorded before 1000; Middle English don, dun(ne), Old English dun; cognate with Old Saxon dun; probably of Celtic origin; compare Irish donn “dark,” Welsh dwnn “brownish”

Other words from dun

dunness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dun in a sentence

The challenge was set by HSBC, sponsors of the Open Championship, and filmed at dun Laoghaire Golf Club in Dublin.
Padraig Harrington's Hole-In-One, Blindfolded | Tom Sykes | July 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Cognizant, headquartered in New Jersey, grew out of a partnership between dun & Bradstreet and an Indian firm.
Legal Outsourcing Within the United States | Ilana Glazer | April 1, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
And the insurance fund run by the FDIC is replenishing itself without having to dun taxpayers.
Former FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair Dishes (Video) | Daniel Gross | October 1, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
It looks inconspicuous enough on the outside with an ordinary gate and dun-colored walls, which blend with the surrounding houses.
Inside the Gaddafis' Lair | Babak Dehghanpisheh | August 25, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
Local book festivals such as the Doon readings in Dehra dun and the Kalaghoda festival in Mumbai are increasingly popular.
Celebrating Books at 7,600 Feet | Namita Gokhale | May 24, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST

Here the pair reached the "dun Cow" and retired to their respective quarters.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James Wills
My spurs fairly lifted the dun horse, and we scuttled in the opposite direction like a scared antelope.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
My hand flew to mine as I jerked the dun up short, but I wasn't fast enough—and Hicks was too close.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
And as if the shout had reached high heaven, that instant the dun clouds parted.
God Wills It! | William Stearns Davis
The tent had been old when Thyrsis got it, and as this was the third season he had used it, it was dark and dun of hue.
Love's Pilgrimage | Upton Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for dun (1 of 2)

dun¹

/ (dʌn) /

verbduns, 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

Origin of dun

C17: of unknown origin

British Dictionary definitions for dun (2 of 2)

dun²

/ (dʌn) /

noun

a brownish-grey colour
a horse of this colour

angling
- an immature adult mayfly (the subimago), esp one of the genus Ephemera
- an artificial fly imitating this or a similar fly

adjectivedunner or dunnest

of a dun colour
dark and gloomy

Origin of 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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