dun

¹ American  

[duhn] / dʌn /

verb (used with object)

dunned, dunning

1. to make repeated and insistent demands upon, especially for the payment of a debt.

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noun

1. a person, especially a creditor, who duns another.

2. a demand for payment, especially a written one.

dun ² American  

[duhn] / dʌn /

adjective

1. dull, grayish brown.

2. dark; gloomy.

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noun

1. a dun color.

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

3. mayfly.

4. Angling.  dun fly.

dun ¹ British  

/ dʌn /

noun

1. a brownish-grey colour

2. a horse of this colour

3. angling

   1. an immature adult mayfly (the subimago), esp one of the genus Ephemera

   2. an artificial fly imitating this or a similar fly

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adjective

1. of a dun colour

2. dark and gloomy

dun ² British  

/ dʌn /

verb

1. (tr) to press or importune (a debtor) for the payment of a debt

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noun

1. a person, esp a hired agent, who importunes another for the payment of a debt

2. a demand for payment, esp one in writing

Other Word Forms

• dunness noun

Etymology

Origin of dun¹

First recorded in 1620–30; origin obscure

Origin of dun²

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”

Example Sentences

I laughed at first, as I slowly made my way toward the board, but no matter how hard I tried to ignore it, that “dun, dun, dun, dun” kept getting louder.

From Los Angeles Times

One of this crew, no surprise, ends up dead before the night is over, and an unusually somber Poirot must figure out whodunit, before he himself gets dun.

From Seattle Times

“It would go dun dun dun dun,” Bellemeur, 99, says quietly as she sits in her Pasadena retirement home.

From Los Angeles Times

It isn’t pretty; the palette runs toward dun and dull red with slashes of marine blue.

From New York Times

This year, Trump formed a “Save America” political action committee that raised an estimated $100 million, mostly by constantly dunning small-dollar donors.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• black
• cloudy
• darkened
• dim
• dingy
• drab
• dull
• foggy
• gloomy
• misty
• murky
• overcast
• shadowy
• somber