- (especially North American English, informal) stupid
- That was a pretty dumb thing to do.
- If the police question you, act dumb (= pretend you do not know anything).
- (offensive) In her early movies she played a dumb blonde.
Extra Examples- I'm sure my question sounded really dumb.
- The idea is unworkable and just plain dumb.
- What are they talking about? It sounds dumb.
- How could he be so dumb as to do that?
- That's the dumbest idea I ever heard.
- (offensive) She's going out with some dumb jock from her high school.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- feel
- look
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- temporarily not speaking or refusing to speak
- We were all struck dumb with amazement.
- We sat there in dumb silence.
- She stood in the doorway, dumb with rage.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- become
- be struck
- …
- with
- deaf and dumb
- (old-fashioned, offensive) unable to speak
- She was born deaf and dumb.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- become
- be struck
- …
- with
- deaf and dumb
Word OriginOld English, of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse dumbr and Gothic dumbs ‘mute’, also to Dutch dom ‘stupid’ and German dumm ‘stupid’.
Check pronunciation:
dumb