duds

[ duhdz ]

plural noun

, Informal.

1. clothes, especially a suit of clothes.
2. belongings in general.

Word History and Origins

Origin of duds¹

1275–1325; Middle English dudde; perhaps akin to Low German dudel coarse sackcloth

Example Sentences

However, pharmaceutical companies want to recover their years of research and development costs - and the field has produced a lot of expensive duds and dead-ends.

From BBC

They’ve spent plenty of money on duds, too, but taken as a whole their business has been strong.

From BBC

Large numbers of the shells fired were duds; they failed to detonate.

From Literature

In comparison, Graziadei is miles ahead of these reality show dating duds.

From Salon

In fact, the whole presidential nominating process begins far too early with a hyped caucus and primary in pipsqueak states — Iowa and New Hampshire — that this year were duds.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• frock
• garb
• sportswear