- 1(informal) stupid That was a pretty dumb thing to do. If the police question you, act dumb (= pretend you do not know anything). In her early movies she played a dumb blonde.
- 2temporarily not speaking or refusing to speak We were all struck dumb with amazement. We sat there in dumb silence.
- 3unable to speak She was born deaf and dumb. Dumb used in this meaning is old-fashioned and can be offensive. It is better to use speech-impaired instead.
adverb “Are you all right?” Laura nodded dumbly.
noun [uncountable]See dumb in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Check pronunciation: dumb