dude

noun \ ˈdüd also ˈdyüd \

Updated on: 8 Apr 2018

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 : 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 informally 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

Dries Van Noten’s dudes with the snakeskin cross body bags...

— steff yotka, Vogue, "Calling All Softboys: There’s a Tender New Trend in Menswear," 29 Mar. 2018
Box, who along with his wife owned an international tourism marketing firm, layers his story with an insider's knowledge of the Western economy and the dude-ranch industry.

— robert anglen, azcentral, "C.J. Box delivers slow-burn environmental thriller in new Joe Pickett mystery," 23 Mar. 2018
These dudes trust her with everything — acne advice, photo shoot guidance, general secret-keeping.

— brennan kilbane, Allure, "Meet Kristan Serafino, Hollywood’s Most Sought-After Groomer," 22 Mar. 2018
The level of graphical detail and fidelity in this scene is frankly staggering, with all sorts of little twitches and convulsions happening across the alien dude’s face.

— vlad savov, The Verge, "Epic Games showcases the Unreal future of graphics with real-time ray tracing in Star Wars," 22 Mar. 2018
But, Andy would be the first to tell you, this isn’t a story about which handsome dude the firefighter will choose.

— refinery29.com, "Station 19 Is A Worthy, Explosive Heir To Grey's Anatomy," 20 Mar. 2018
When Manny didn’t feel the same love, our founder jokingly shrugged it off as maybe (lash extensions vs strips) appeal more to women hence the 'dude' comment.

— kelsey stiegman, Seventeen, "Lashify Calls Out Manny MUA’s Fans for “Shameful” Behavior After Heated Feud," 19 Mar. 2018
Keller shared an apartment near the medical center with another assistant named Jeremy Cox, and the three of them knew all of the tricks that underpaid single dudes needed to get by.

— mike finger, San Antonio Express-News, "Tech, SFA coaches took long, slow road to NCAA showdown," 14 Mar. 2018
C'mon dude don't put your foot in your mouth like cardinal fans do.

— jeremy cluff, azcentral, "Sam Bradford Cardinals quarterback: Your take on Arizona's replacement for Carson Palmer," 13 Mar. 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

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

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

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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

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