dud

1 of 2

noun

1
duds plural
a
b
: personal belongings
2
a
: one that is ineffectual
also : failure
a box-office dud
b
: misfit
3
: a bomb or missile that fails to explode

dud

2 of 2

adjective

: of little or no worth : valueless
dud checks

Examples of dud in a Sentence

Noun The seeds must have been duds because the plants never grew. She put on her new duds for the party.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Doing just two — or sometimes three — live-action series a year should decrease the likelihood of ending up with a dud; keeping prices in line reduces the financial downside should one slip through anyway. Josef Adalian, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2024 Out west, the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers put up another dud of a performance. Vincent Frank, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024
Adjective
After back-to-back losses— a dud performance and a choke job — San Francisco played a team wholly inferior in the New England Patriots. Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 29 Sep. 2024 Russian cluster munitions reportedly have a dud rate of as high as 40%. Riley Rogerson, Anchorage Daily News, 21 July 2023 See all Example Sentences for dud 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English dudde

First Known Use

Noun

1567, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1899, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dud was in 1567

Dictionary Entries Near dud

Cite this Entry

“Dud.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dud. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

dud

noun
ˈdəd
1
plural
b
: personal belongings
2
: a complete failure
the movie was a dud
3
: a missile (as a bomb or shell) that fails to explode

More from Merriam-Webster on dud

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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