dub
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
Letters
3 characters
Language
English
word origin
Source
Wiktionary
open dictionary
Access
Free
no sign-up needed
Detailed reference entry for the English word "dub", 3-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "dub" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "dub" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
dub is aEnglishverb. It means: To confer knighthood; the conclusion of the ceremony was marked by a tap on the shoulder with a sword, the accolade. Pronounced /dʌb/. Often confused with dw and Dx.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dub |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /dʌb/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #12,228 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for dub is 3 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dʌb/. Corpus data places it at rank #12,228 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No frequent misspelling variants are recorded for dub in our index, suggesting the orthography either follows predictable English patterns or the word is uncommon enough that typo corpora lack signal.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "dw", "Dx", "DV", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dubben, from Old English dubbian (“to knight by striking with a sword, dub”) from Old French adober (“to equip with arms; adorn”) (also 11th century, Modern French adouber), both from Proto-West Germanic *dubbōn, from Proto-Germanic *dub… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is dub, spelled D-U-B, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1To confer knighthood; the conclusion of the ceremony was marked by a tap on the shoulder with a sword, the accolade.
- 2To name, to entitle, to call.
- 3To deem.
- 4To clothe or invest; to ornament; to adorn.
- 5To strike, rub, or dress smooth; to dab.
- 6To strike, rub, or dress smooth; to dab.
- 7To strike, rub, or dress smooth; to dab.
- 8To strike, rub, or dress smooth; to dab.
- 9To prepare (a gamecock) for fighting, by trimming the hackles and cutting off the comb and wattles.
Etymology
From Middle English dubben, from Old English dubbian (“to knight by striking with a sword, dub”) from Old French adober (“to equip with arms; adorn”) (also 11th century, Modern French adouber), both from Proto-West Germanic *dubbōn, from Proto-Germanic *dub- (“to hit, strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“plug, peg, wedge”). Cognate with Icelandic dubba (in dubba til riddara). Compare also drub for an English reflex of the Germanic word.
This word in other languages
Frequency rank: #12,228 in English
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "dub"?
What does "dub" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "dub"?
How do you pronounce "dub"?
What is the origin of the word "dub"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter D in our English index: