dumdum

¹

[ duhm-duhm ]

noun

1. a hollow-nosed or soft-nosed bullet that expands on impact, inflicting a severe wound.

dumdum

²

[ duhm-duhm ]

noun

1. dum-dum.

dumdum

/ ˈdʌmˌdʌm /

noun

1. a soft-nosed or hollow-nosed small-arms bullet that expands on impact and inflicts extensive laceration Also calleddumdum bullet

Word History and Origins

Origin of dumdum¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; named after Dum-Dum, town in India where the bullets were made

Word History and Origins

Origin of dumdum¹

C19: named after Dum-Dum, town near Kolkata (Calcutta) where these bullets were made

Example Sentences

He often described himself as “a professional dumdum” — a dogged interlocutor whose questions led to some extraordinary structures and, at least once, to no structure at all.

From New York Times

“I’ll post on Instagram, ‘I’m using Alaska Airlines to fly American Airlines to fly to London first class,’ and people will be like: ‘Dumdum! Didn’t you realize if you transfer Amex to Etihad it’s less miles?’

From New York Times

Here comes the dumdum who had no idea what we were saying.

From Time

“The bullet hit us. We were just lucky that the bullet we took was a rubber bullet from a twenty-two rather than a dumdum bullet from a forty-five. My concern is that people are saying, ‘Whew, we dodged a bullet.’

From Literature

Going into the final dates and parent meet-and-greets, they are both feeling pretty confident that Ben loves them most of all, because walking DumDum ® Brand Lollipop Ben has told each of them that he loves them.

From Time

Related Words

• clodpoll