Dub Definition & Meaning

American

British

Usage

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms dub 1 American [duhb] / dʌb /

verb (used with object)

dubbed, dubbing

1. to invest with any name, character, dignity, or title; style; name; call.

   He was dubbed a hero.

2. to strike lightly with a sword in the ceremony of conferring knighthood; make, or designate as, a knight.

   The king dubbed him a knight.

3. to strike, cut, rub, or make smooth, as leather or timber.

idioms

1. dub bright, to shave off the outer surface of the planking of (a ship).

dub 2 American [duhb] / dʌb /

noun

Slang.

1. an awkward, unskillful person.

dub 3 American [duhb] / dʌb /

verb (used with object)

dubbed, dubbing

1. to thrust; poke.

2. Golf. to hit (a ball) poorly; misplay (a shot).

3. to execute poorly.

verb (used without object)

dubbed, dubbing

1. to thrust; poke.

noun

1. a thrust; poke.

2. a drumbeat.

dub 4 American [duhb] / dʌb /

verb (used with object)

dubbed, dubbing

1. to furnish (a film or tape) with a new soundtrack, especially one recorded in a different language.

2. to add (music, speech, etc.) to a film or tape recording (often followed byin ).

3. to copy (a tape or disc recording).

verb (used without object)

dubbed, dubbing

1. to copy program material from one tape recording onto another.

noun

1. the new sounds added to a film or tape.

2. a style of popular music based on reggae and produced by remixing previously recorded music to which audio samples and sound effects are added.

verb phrase

1. dub out to omit or erase (unwanted sound) on a tape or soundtrack.

   to dub out background noise.

dub 5 American [duhb] / dʌb /

noun

Chiefly Scot.

1. a pool of water; puddle.

dub 1 British / dʌb /

verb

1. to alter the soundtrack of (an old recording, film, etc)

2. (tr) to substitute for the soundtrack of (a film) a new soundtrack, esp in a different language

3. (tr) to provide (a film or tape) with a soundtrack

4. (tr) to alter (a taped soundtrack) by removing some parts and exaggerating others

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

1. films the new sounds added

2. 1. music a style of record production associated with reggae, involving the removal or exaggeration of instrumental parts, extensive use of echo, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a dub mix

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 dub 2 British / dʌb /

verb

1. (tr) to invest (a person) with knighthood by the ritual of tapping on the shoulder with a sword

2. (tr) to invest with a title, name, or nickname

3. (tr) to dress (leather) by rubbing

4. angling to dress (a fly)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

1. the sound of a drum

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 dub 3 British / dʌb /

noun

1. a clumsy or awkward person or player

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

1. to bungle (a shot), as in golf

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 dub 4 British / dʌb /

verb

1. informal short for double-bank

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 dub 5 British / dʌb /

noun

1. dialect a pool of water; puddle

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 dub 6 British / dʌb /

verb

1. slang (intr; foll by in, up, or out) to contribute to the cost of (something); pay

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What else does dub mean? Dub has many meanings in English. It can variously mean "to nickname" and "to voice a film in a different language." It can be short for double and the letter W. It can be slang for a marijuana "joint", or $20 worth of drugs. Dub also refers to a popular genre of music derived from reggae.

Other Word Forms

• dubber noun

Etymology

Origin of dub1

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English dubben, late Old English (assumed) dubbian (in phrase dubbade tō ridere “dubbed to knight(hood)”), from Anglo-French dubber, dobber, douber, shortened form of ad(o)uber, equivalent to prefix a- (from Latin ad- “to”) + do(u)ber, from Old Low Franconian (assumed) dubban “to strike, beat,” cognate with Low German dubben; a- 5 ( def. ), dub 3, daube

Origin of dub2

First recorded in 1885–90; of expressive origin, flub, flubdub, dub 3

Origin of dub3

First recorded in 1505–15; apparently same word (with older sense) as dub 1

Origin of dub4

First recorded in 1925–30; short for double

Origin of dub5

First recorded in 1490–1500; of obscure origin; perhaps akin to Middle Low German dobbe “pond, puddle”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The White House on Thursday launched its drug-pricing website, dubbed TrumpRx, the culmination of efforts by the administration to bring down pharmaceutical costs for some consumers.

From The Wall Street Journal

Gomez, whose district covers downtown, said he was also visiting the facility to look into reports that immigrant families and children and U.S. citizens were being held in an previously unknown area dubbed “B-17.”

From Los Angeles Times

Social media posts show users "raising" their rice cakes, complaining about being at home to babysit, and dubbing them their new pets.

From Barron's

Their unexpected break-ups had freed them from long-term relationships which Eve dubbed sub-par - her term for one that ultimately doesn't work.

From BBC

Spending on semiconductors has ballooned, with $47.5 billion raised in 2024, largely channeled through the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, dubbed the Big Fund.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• designate
• nickname

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.