Definition of DUDE

dude

Plural: dudes

Noun

  • an informal form of address for a man
  • a man who is much concerned with his dress and appearance
  • A man, generally a younger man.
  • A term of address for someone, typically a man, particularly when cautioning them or offering advice.
  • A tourist.
  • A man who is very concerned about his dress and appearance; a dandy, a fop.

Intj

  • A term of address, usually for a man, conveying awe, excitement, surprise, annoyance, etc.

Verb

Verb Forms: duded, duding, dudes

  • To dress up in showy or fashionable clothes.
  • To address someone as dude.
  • To take a vacation in a dude ranch.
  • Usually followed by up: to dress up, to wear smart or special clothes.

Examples

  • Dude! You finally called!
  • Dude, I'd be careful around the principal; he's having a bad day.
  • He liked to DUDE up his word list with fancy, high-scoring bingos, even if they were obscure.
  • So we were at the mall and these two dudes just walk up to us and say "hi".
  • Watch it, dude; you almost knocked me over.

Origin / Etymology

Uncertain, though likely a clipping of doodle (“fool, simpleton, mindless person”), perhaps with reference to the fashionable “Yankee Doodle dandy” in the 18th-century lyrics of the song “Yankee Doodle”; the word is first attested in 1883 as a New York City slang term of contempt for a “fastidious man, fop”. If so, then related to German Low German Dudeldop, Dudendop (“fool, dunce”), Saterland Frisian Duddigegen (“idiot”).
It has also been suggested that the word is derived from dudes (“old rags”; compare duds) and dudesman (“scarecrow”), or possibly related to dawdle; It has also been suggested the word derives from the Irish dúid.
The common claim that the term derives from (or is) a word for a camel's foreskin (or some other vulgar thing, like a hair on a cow, horse, donkey, or elephant's bottom) is false.

Synonyms

beau, buster, clotheshorse, dandy, fashion plate, fellow, fop, gallant, sheik, swell, Jemmy-Jessamy, barbermonger, blade, bloke, blood, boy, bro, broski, bruh, buck, carpet knight, cat, chap, chappy, chield, cockscomb, cove, covey, dawg, dike, dog [⇒ thesaurus] (slang), dood, dude, dudelet, exquisite, fashionable, fast man, fella, fine gentleman, foretop, fribble, gadgie, gate, geezer, gink, gloak, go, gome, guy, health, homeboy, homey, jack-a-dandy, jetter, joe, lede, macaroni, masher, mate, metrosexual, mignon, nigga, ninja, old chap, omi, petit maître, pillicock, popinjay, pretty boy, prig, punk, puss-gentleman, rooster, seg, shalk, smart, spark, spiff, tippy, toff, wallah, wer, were, wye

Scrabble Score: 6

dude: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
dude: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
dude: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 7

dude: valid Words With Friends Word