dub

1 of 5

verb (1)

dubbed; dubbing

transitive verb

1
a
: to confer knighthood on
was dubbed Sir Philip
b
: to call by a distinctive title, epithet, or nickname
Critics have dubbed him the new king of rock 'n' roll.
2
: to trim or remove the comb (see comb entry 1 sense 2a) and wattles of
3
a
golf : to hit (a ball or shot) poorly
b
: to execute poorly
a dubbed attempt

dub

2 of 5

verb (2)

dubbed; dubbing; dubs

transitive verb

1
: to add (sound effects or new dialogue) to a film or to a radio or television production
usually used with in
They dubbed in the music.
2
: to provide (a motion-picture film) with a new soundtrack and especially dialogue in a different language
The film was dubbed in French and Spanish.
3
: to make a new recording of (previously recorded sound)
That file was probably created … years earlier from a CD, which itself may have been created from a suboptimal "safety copy" of the LP master—or even from a dubbed duplicate of that dubbed duplicate.Jody Rosen
also : to mix (recorded sound from different sources) into a single recording

dub

3 of 5

noun (1)

: Jamaican music in which audio effects and spoken or chanted words are imposed on an instrumental reggae background

dub

4 of 5

noun (2)

: one who is inept or clumsy

dub

5 of 5

noun (3)

chiefly Scotland

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Mazda Hits Its Annual Special-Edition Stride Mazda's special-edition MX-5 Miata for 1993 is dubbed the LE for Limited Edition. Alexander Stoklosa, Car and Driver, 18 May 2023 The spectacular attraction opened in 2022 and features a 787-foot-long Diamond Bridge, as its been dubbed by the Georgian-Israeli investment firm Kass Group (which has worked on amusement parks and other projects in and around Jerusalem) that backed the project. Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 14 May 2023 The two-story retail and gallery space, dubbed Gotham, opened doors on Wednesday in the Big Apple’s Bowery neighborhood. Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 13 May 2023 Uber is still moving forward with reviving its carpool service, now dubbed UberX Share. Jackie Davalos, Fortune, 11 May 2023 The 36-song set was broken into seven different sections, dubbed Opening Act, Renaissance, Motherboard, Opulence, Anointed, Anointed Pt. 2, and Mind Control. Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 10 May 2023 Biologists say that animal could be the bear now dubbed BB-12. Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 4 May 2023 Still, the Washington state governor has been dubbed a possible candidate for the 2028 race, which would catapult him to a higher level of prominence among Democratic White House hopefuls. Rachel Schilke, Washington Examiner, 1 May 2023 One part of the visual prosthesis, a microLED device dubbed FlexLED, is based on a combination of a thin-film retinal display and the activation of RGCs. Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 1 May 2023
Noun
Bosch's voice has since been featured in numerous anime series, providing the English dub for shows like Bleach, One Piece and Trigun. Alex Gurley, Peoplemag, 18 Apr. 2023 In addition to creating a complete historic Comanche dub of the film that used all of the actors’ voices and was produced in tandem with the actual film, Myers also created an internship program for the film, which gave Indigenous people the opportunity to learn how to work as crew. Laura Clark, Variety, 24 Feb. 2023 Crunchyroll’s new film premiered at the Academy Museum on Wednesday with English dub cast including Christopher R. Sabat, Kyle Hebert, Aleks Le, Zeno Robinson, Sean Schemmel and Charles Martinet. Kirsten Chuba, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Aug. 2022 In Virginia's 2021 gubernatorial race, Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin's campaign made early efforts to organize and convince potential Latino voters through bilingual mailers, social media and a Spanish dub of their ad in the month before the election. Aaron Navarro, CBS News, 10 May 2022 Slugger, as he’s known in the English dub — soon becomes a serial assailant, striking again and again at seemingly random targets as the two detectives assigned to the case struggle to discern his identity and motive. John Maher, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2022 Amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Paddington star Hugh Bonneville pointed out on Twitter that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, who's drawing international praise for his handling of the crisis, was the voice of Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian dub of the 2014 movie and its sequel. Brendan Morrow, The Week, 28 Feb. 2022 With a heavy reliance on the earth-trembling bass of dub and reggae, The Harder They Fall presents a refreshingly anachronistic sonic landscape. Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2021 Yes Sub, dub, or both? Stacey Nguyen, EW.com, 21 Mar. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dub.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1) and Noun (2)

Middle English dubben, from Old English dubbian; akin to Old Norse dubba to dub, Old High German tubili plug

Verb (2)

by shortening & alteration from double

Noun (3)

Middle English (Scots) dubbe

First Known Use

Verb (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (2)

1930, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (1)

1974, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1884, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dub was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near dub

Cite this Entry

“Dub.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dub. Accessed 2 Jun. 2023.

Kids Definition

dub

1 of 2 verb
dubbed; dubbing
1
: to make a knight of
2

dub

2 of 2 verb
dubbed; dubbing
: to add sound effects or new dialogue to a film or broadcast

Medical Definition

DUB

abbreviation
dysfunctional uterine bleeding

More from Merriam-Webster on dub

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!