dude

noun \ ˈdüd also ˈdyüd \

|Updated on: 14 Jul 2018

Examples: dude in a Sentence

Definition of dude

1 : a man extremely fastidious in dress and manner : dandy

2 : a city dweller unfamiliar with life on the range (see ¹range 3b); especially : an Easterner in the West

3 informal : fellow, guy

The other girls in the program never go out, so I always find myself out with dudes from my program.
—Cosmopolitan

—sometimes used as a term of address

Hey, dude, what's up?

—

dudish

play \ˈd(y)üd-ish\ adjective

—

dudishly

adverb

See dude defined for English-language learners

See dude defined for kids

Examples of dude in a Sentence

a dude given to sporting expensive suits and flashy jewelry
OK, dude, whatever you say.

Recent Examples of dude from the Web

My conversation never was this white dude stole black music.

— gary thompson, Philly.com, "Art in melting pot America: What's appropriation and what's appropriate? New movies explore," 6 July 2018
This dude sees everyone, human and robot alike, as a supporting character in his own personal narrative.

— scott meslow, GQ, "Westworld Season 2 Episode 9 Recap: Here Comes the Man in Black," 18 June 2018
Cooper/Richard walks into Judy’s, asks for the other waitress, and first intervenes with, then thoroughly neutralizes a group of dudes harassing the waitress on duty (Francesca Eastwood).

— sonia saraiya, HWD, "How Twin Peaks: The Return Made a Whole New Cooper in One Weird Diner Scene," 14 June 2018
The Quiet Man The Quiet Man’s trailer shows what appears to be a deaf dude beating the hell out of some gang members?

— brad chacos, PCWorld, "Square Enix's E3 showcase: Just Cause 4, Dragon Quest XI, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and more," 11 June 2018
Seriously, this dude lost his job because his wife couldn’t stop calling out Joel Embiid on Twitter?

— rohan nadkarni, SI.com, "There Was No Way Bryan Colangelo Could Remain Employed in Philadelphia," 7 June 2018
So this dude found a random girl online and convinced 100k+ people to bully her over a prom dress.

— mekita rivas, Teen Vogue, "This Student Says Her Qipao Prom Dress Is Being Called Out for Cultural Appropriation," 30 Apr. 2018
Uncle Drew also started as a series of shorts, some written and directed by Irving, about a mythical playground star (Irving, in old dude makeup) who shows up younger players during pickup games.

— gary thompson, Philly.com, "'I thought this movie will either be 'Showgirls' bad or it will be really good': Charles Stone III on directing Kyrie Irving and other basketball stars in 'Uncle Drew'," 22 June 2018
The dead dude is the only thing keeping this struggling mining town afloat.

— donna freedman, Anchorage Daily News, "Tundra creator back with second feature-length film, ‘Sudsy Slim Rides Again’," 21 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dude.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of dude

origin unknown

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1877

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

dude Synonyms

Synonyms

buck, fella, fellow, gent, gentleman, guy, hombre, joker, lad, male, man;

Related Words

master, mister, sir;

buddy, buster;

dude

verb

Definition of dude

duded; duding

transitive verb

: dress up —usually used with up

got duded up for the dance

Recent Examples of dude from the Web

Here's the whole thing: Dude's totally a virgin, right?

— laura beck, Cosmopolitan, "This Bonkers Craigslist Poster Seeks Woman to Impregnate During Eclipse," 13 Aug. 2017
At first glance, Wyoming's feminist history isn't obvious (see: dude ranch).

— jordi lippe-mcgraw, Condé Nast Traveler, "Is Wyoming The Most Feminist State Ever?," 14 Apr. 2017

Origin and Etymology of dude

noun derivative of ¹dude

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1899

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

DUDE Defined for English Language Learners

dude

noun

Definition of dude for English Language Learners

: a man

DUDE Defined for Kids

dude

noun \ ˈdüd , ˈdyüd \

Definition of dude for Students

1 : a person from the eastern United States in the West

2 : ¹man 1, guy

Learn More about dude

See words that rhyme with dude Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for dude Spanish Central: Translation of dude Nglish: Translation of dude for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of dude for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up dude? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

dude

Definition of dude

dudish

dudishly

Examples of dude in a Sentence

Recent Examples of dude from the Web

Origin and Etymology of dude

dude Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

dude

Definition of dude

Recent Examples of dude from the Web

Origin and Etymology of dude

DUDE Defined for English Language Learners

dude

Definition of dude for English Language Learners

DUDE Defined for Kids

dude

Definition of dude for Students

Learn More about dude

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

'Flight': A Great Way To Try New Things

Absent Letters That Are Heard Anyway

Obscure Shapes

Trending: Ocasio-Cortez Sparks 'Socialism' Lookups

Ghost Word