dud

1 of 2

noun

ˈdəd 

1

duds plural

a

: clothing

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

Synonyms

Noun

• bomb
• bummer
• bust
• catastrophe
• clinker
• clunker
• debacle
• débâcle
• disaster
• failure
• fiasco
• fizzle
• flop
• frost
• lemon
• loser
• miss
• shipwreck
• turkey
• washout

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

Not every investment is a hit, but the big wins offset the duds and create ample returns for the firm’s investors. —Dana Mattioli, Fortune, 22 Apr. 2024

Until clutch time, Jokic and Murray had rare coinciding duds, especially from a shot-making standpoint. —Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 17 Mar. 2024

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

Kids Definition

dud

noun

ˈdəd

1

plural

a

: clothes sense 1

b

: personal belongings

2

: a complete failure

the movie was a dud

3

: a missile (as a bomb or shell) that fails to explode