dum|my /dʌ mi/ (dummies )
1 N‑COUNT A dummy is a model of a person, often used to display clothes. □ …the bottom half of a shop-window dummy.
2 N‑COUNT [oft N n] You can use dummy to refer to things that are not real, but have been made to look or behave as if they are real. □ Dummy patrol cars will be set up beside motorways to frighten speeding motorists.
3 N‑COUNT A baby's dummy is a rubber or plastic object that you give the baby to suck so that he or she feels comforted. [BRIT ] in AM, usually use pacifier
du m|my ru n (dummy runs ) N‑COUNT A dummy run is a trial or test procedure which is carried out in order to see if a plan or process works properly. [BRIT ] □ Before we started we did a dummy run.
dump ◆◇◇ /dʌ mp/ (dumps , dumping , dumped )
1 VERB If you dump something somewhere, you put it or unload it there quickly and carelessly. [INFORMAL ] □ [V n prep/adv] We dumped our bags at the nearby Grand Hotel and hurried towards the market.
2 VERB If something is dumped somewhere, it is put or left there because it is no longer wanted or needed. [INFORMAL ] □ [be V -ed] The getaway car was dumped near a motorway tunnel. □ [V n] The government declared that it did not dump radioactive waste at sea. ● dump|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ German law forbids the dumping of hazardous waste on German soil.
3 N‑COUNT A dump is a place where rubbish is left, for example on open ground outside a town. □ …companies that bring their rubbish straight to the dump.
4 N‑COUNT If you say that a place is a dump , you think it is ugly and unpleasant to live in or visit. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ]
5 VERB To dump something such as an idea, policy, or practice means to stop supporting or using it. [INFORMAL ] □ [V n] Ministers believed it was vital to dump the poll tax before the election.
6 VERB If a firm or company dumps goods, it sells large quantities of them at prices far below their real value, usually in another country, in order to gain a bigger market share or to keep prices high in the home market. [BUSINESS ] □ [V n] It produces more than it needs, then dumps its surplus onto the world market.
7 VERB If you dump someone, you end your relationship with them. [INFORMAL ] □ [V n] I thought he was going to dump me for another girl.
8 VERB To dump computer data or memory means to copy it from one storage system onto another, such as from disk to magnetic tape. [COMPUTING ] □ [V n + into ] All the data is then dumped into the main computer.
9 N‑COUNT A dump is a list of the data that is stored in a computer's memory at a particular time. Dumps are often used by computer programmers to find out what is causing a problem with a program. [COMPUTING ] □ …a screen dump.
du mp|er truck (dumper trucks ) N‑COUNT A dumper truck is the same as a dump truck . [BRIT ]
du mp|ing ground (dumping grounds ) N‑COUNT If you say that a place is a dumping ground for something, usually something unwanted, you mean that people leave or send large quantities of that thing there. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ [+ for ] …a dumping-ground for radioactive residues.
dump|ling /dʌ mpl I ŋ/ (dumplings ) N‑VAR Dumplings are small lumps of dough that are cooked and eaten, either with meat and vegetables or as part of a sweet pudding.
Dump|ster /dʌ mpstə r / (Dumpsters ) N‑COUNT A Dumpster is a large metal container for holding rubbish. [AM , TRADEMARK ] in BRIT, usually use skip
du mp truck (dump trucks ) N‑COUNT A dump truck is a truck whose carrying part can be tipped backwards so that the load falls out.
dumpy /dʌ mpi/ (dumpier , dumpiest ) ADJ If you describe someone as dumpy , you mean they are short and fat, and are usually implying they are unattractive. [DISAPPROVAL ]
dun /dʌ n/ COLOUR Something that is dun is a dull grey-brown colour. □ …her dun mare.
dunce /dʌ ns/ (dunces ) N‑COUNT If you say that someone is a dunce , you think they are rather stupid because they find it difficult or impossible to learn what someone is trying to teach them. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ Michael may have been a dunce at mathematics, but he was gifted at languages.
dune /djuː n, [AM ] duː n/ (dunes ) N‑COUNT A dune is a hill of sand near the sea or in a desert.
dung /dʌ ŋ/ N‑UNCOUNT Dung is faeces from animals, especially from large animals such as cattle and horses.
dun|ga|rees /dʌ ŋgəriː z/ N‑PLURAL [oft a pair of N ] Dungarees are a one-piece garment consisting of trousers, a piece of cloth which covers your chest, and straps which go over your shoulders. In American English, dungarees can also refer to jeans.
dun|geon /dʌ ndʒ ə n/ (dungeons ) N‑COUNT A dungeon is a dark underground prison in a castle.
dunk /dʌ ŋk/ (dunks , dunking , dunked ) VERB If you dunk something in a liquid, you put it in the liquid, especially for a particular purpose and for a short time. □ [V n + in ] Dunk new plants in a bucket of water for an hour or so before planting.
dun|no /dənoʊ / Dunno is sometimes used in written English to represent an informal way of saying 'don't know'. □ 'How on earth did she get it?'—'I dunno.'
duo /djuː oʊ, [AM ] duː -/ (duos )
1 N‑COUNT A duo is two musicians, singers, or other performers who perform together as a pair. □ …a famous dancing and singing duo.
2 N‑COUNT You can refer to two people together as a duo , especially when they have something in common. [mainly JOURNALISM ] □ …Britain's former golden duo of Linford Christie and Sally Gunnell.