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
Noun
The Democratic primary will be a dud because there’ll be no competition for President Biden — and little incentive for Democrats to turn out. George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2023 After wearing their lucky blue and yellow City Connect uniforms during the last homestand, the Sox will sport their usual gray road duds on the trip . . . Peter Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 15 Aug. 2023 The last two seasons were impressive, and the two before that largely duds. Terry Tang, The Arizona Republic, 3 Aug. 2023 But even many films that have exceeded expectations elsewhere hit a dud note among Saudi cinemagoers: in 12 weeks, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (global haul in excess of $845 million) hasn’t managed to scrape $2 million. Alex Ritman, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Aug. 2023 Lawrence, who had worked with Japanese scientists to build the first cyclotrons outside the U.S., was the last member of the committee to agree that using the bomb was the only choice, for the possibility of a dud demonstration was too great to risk. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2023 July is a prime time for menswear brands to fill their sale section with overstock duds, but one deal that caught our eye was Abercrombie's Summer Clearance event. Men's Health, 26 July 2023 Images: Reuters/Getty Images Composite: Mark Kelly Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate turned out to be a dud. William McGurn, WSJ, 2 Oct. 2023 Italian food has proved to be the most popular, but roast beef sandwiches were a dud, so were taken off the menu. Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, 26 Sep. 2023
Adjective
Russian cluster munitions reportedly have a dud rate of as high as 40%. Riley Rogerson, Anchorage Daily News, 21 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dud.' 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

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 29 Nov. 2023.

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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