dude

Noun

dude (plural dudes)

1. (Canada, US, colloquial) A man, generally a younger man.
   • So we were at the mall and these two dudes just walk up to us and say "hi".
   • A very pretty little dudine of Fifth Avenue is much admired by the dudes in her neighborhood, and it has been observed on several occasions that she appeared to be able to discriminate between them, and not only shows a preference for one dude over another; but is able to recognize the dudes she...1883 March 7, “Animal Intelligence: Facts Tending to Throw Light on the Question: ‘Do Dudes Reason?’”, in Puck, volume XIII, number 313, New York, N.Y.: Keppler & Schwarzmann, →OCLC, page 299

   Synonyms:

   bloke, chap, cove, guy, boy, bro, broski, bruh, cat, chappy

2. (colloquial) A term of address for someone, often but not exclusively a man, particularly when hailing, cautioning them or offering advice.
   • Hey, dude, how's it going?
   • Dude, I'd be careful around the principal; he's having a bad day.

   Synonyms:

   bro, buddy, mate, old chap

3. (slang) A tourist.
   • Dudes are at least as entertaining as cows, even when they don't mean to be. A cow can’t voice that honestly curious question that turns a poor cowboy into a laughing fool the way a dude can. Probably nothing in the world can move a cowboy more than a newborn calf's clean, good looks and actions...2006 July–August, J. P. S. Brown, “Hard to Replace: Bill Scott Knows the Value of a Good Horse, a Good Customer, and a Way of Life”, in American Cowboy, Sheridan, Wy.: American Cowboy, →ISSN, →OCLC...
   • The "dudes" are the automobile and bus tourists, mere passers-through: thousands a summer day, millions a season. […] "Dude" expresses perfectly the image that seasonals from the stagecoach driver to the gas-pump jockey have had of tourists: soft, wealthy, uninitiated, ignorant, lowland and...2011, Richard W. Bevis, “Mi Tsi A-da-zi”, in Dudes and Savages: The Resonance of Yellowstone, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Trafford Publishing, →ISBN, page 32
4. (derogatory) A birder who has expensive clothing and equipment, but scant knowledge of birds, their fieldmarks, habits, etc.
   • I am forever slagging off some poor harmless dude or pitiful demented twitcher[.]1983, Bill Oddie, Gone Birding, London: Methuen, page 1
5. (archaic) A man who is very concerned about his dress and appearance; a dandy, a fop.
   • When the dude dons gloves couleur de chien jaune éclairé de la lune—1883 March 7, “Signs of Spring”, in Puck, volume XIII, number 313, New York, N.Y.: Keppler & Schwarzmann, →OCLC, page 21
   • There are three kinds of dudes in New York. There is the inanimate rich dude who don't want to do a thing on earth but exhibit himself. Then there is the poor dude, who dresses like the rich dude, and who wants to marry a rich girl […]1889, Melville D[e Lancey] Landon, “Eli Perkins’ Dudes”, in Wit and Humor of the Age, Comprising Wit, Humor, Pathos, Ridicule, Satires, Dialects, Puns, Conundrums, Riddles, Charades, Jokes and Magic...

   Synonyms:

   dandy, fop, masher, barbermonger, beau, blade, blood, buck, carpet knight, cockscomb

6. (US, historical) In the west, a city slicker with scant knowledge of horses, cattle, or frontier survival.
   • Up to the time, Ranse Foster had been a nobody in particular - a dude from the East, quietly inquisitive, moving from one shack town to another; just another tenderfoot[.]1949, Dorothy M. Johnson, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; in Indian Country, London: Corgi, 1961, page 91

Interjection

1. (slang) A term of address, usually for a man, conveying awe, excitement, surprise, annoyance, etc.
   • Dude! You finally called!
   • And, feckin' A, you ain't never gonna guess this one—dude! […] Thinking this is a little worse than me watching porn. Dude.2011, Karen Marie Moning, Shadowfever: A Novel (The Fever Series; 5), New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press, →ISBN

   Synonyms:

   mate

Verb

dude (third-person singular simple present dudes, present participle dudeing or duding, simple past and past participle duded)

1. To address someone as dude.
   • "Where you been, Mac? I missed you! Dude—I mean, man," she corrects hastily, with a gamine grin, before I can make good on a threat I made in what feels like another lifetime that I would call her by her full name if she ever "duded" me again. […] Oh, yes, she's upset. She just unapologetically...2011, Karen Marie Moning, Shadowfever (The Fever Series; 5), New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press, →ISBN
   • The other two guys with him burst into laughter, dudeing and high-fiving like mad.2013, Maurene Goo, Since You Asked …, New York, N.Y.: Scholastic Press, →ISBN
2. To take a vacation in a dude ranch.
   • The Old Hearst Ranch […] is one of the West's largest and most elaborate dude ranches and includes over 500 acres of woodland trails. There's "dudeing" with all the trimmings, excellent food and rooms at the lodge or individual cabanas.1949, Fortnight: The Newsmagazine of California, [Los Angeles, Calif.]: O.D. Keep Associates, →OCLC, page 22, column 3
   • I am certainly interested in this "dude community" business just because I have tried it in the slightest kind of way. In camping it's "the fewer the better," but in "dudeing" it may be "the more the merrier."2001, Janice Sanford Beck, “Tepee Life in the Northern Hills (1924)”, in No Ordinary Woman: The Story of Mary Schäffer Warren, Surrey, B.C.: Rocky Mountain Books, →ISBN, page 182
3. (US) Usually followed by up: to dress up, to wear smart or special clothes.
   • It seemed that the fellas couldn't get enough girlin' and racing fast cars and grooving to rock and dudeing around in city-slick suits from St. Louis.1980, John G. Mitchell, The Hunt, New York, N.Y.: Knopf, →ISBN, page 229
   • "Speaking of being duded out …" He shrugged, then handed her the bag. "Here. This is for you." / She reached inside and gasped as she pulled out a white suede western style hat. A glittering gold braid encircled the brim. / "Oh, Zack! It's beautiful. Thank you."1994, Sydell I. Voeller, chapter 8, in Her Sister's Keeper, New York, N.Y.: Avalon Press, ISBN 978-0-8034-9063-5; republished Amherst Junction, Wis.: Hard Shell Word Factory, February 2002, ISBN...