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# dud

«dud» in Mova's school dictionary: **Something that does not work properly or is useless, like…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (a dud, duds); adjective (a dud battery)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (informal) Something that does not work properly or is useless, like a firework that does not go off or a dead battery. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dud/#m1)

2) (informal) A person or thing that fails or disappoints. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dud/#m2)

3) duds (US, informal, old): clothes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dud/#m3)

4) (military) A bomb or shell that did not explode. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dud/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life, a dud battery, light bulb or firework; in safety lessons, a «dud» firework must never be picked up because it may still go off; in stories, a disappointing plan or present; phrases: «a dud firework», «turned out to be a dud».

### examples

- The last firework was a dud. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dud/#x1)
- This battery is a dud; let's try another. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dud/#x2)
- The new phone turned out to be a dud. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dud/#x3)
- Never go back to a dud firework: it might explode. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dud/#x4)
- (informal) The film was a dud, and nobody went to see it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dud/#x5)
- One of the eggs was a dud and did not hatch. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dud/#x6)
- (US, old informal) He put on his best duds for the party. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dud/#x7)

### note

Informal. Safety: wait at least 30 minutes and let an adult deal with a dud firework or unexploded bomb.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «dud» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dud/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.