dun

¹

[ duhn ]

verb (used with object)

, dunned, dun·ning.

1. to make repeated and insistent demands upon, especially for the payment of a debt.

noun

1. a person, especially a creditor, who duns another.
2. a demand for payment, especially a written one.

dun

²

[ duhn ]

adjective

1. dull, grayish brown.
2. dark; gloomy.

noun

1. a dun color.
2. a dun-colored horse with a black mane and tail.
3. mayfly ( def 1 ).
4. Angling. dun fly ( def ).

dun

¹

/ dʌn /

noun

1. a brownish-grey colour
2. a horse of this colour
3. angling
   1. an immature adult mayfly (the subimago), esp one of the genus Ephemera
   2. an artificial fly imitating this or a similar fly

adjective

1. of a dun colour
2. dark and gloomy

dun

²

/ dʌn /

verb

1. tr to press or importune (a debtor) for the payment of a debt

noun

1. a person, esp a hired agent, who importunes another for the payment of a debt
2. a demand for payment, esp one in writing

Other Words From

• dunness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dun¹

First recorded in 1620–30; origin obscure

Origin of dun²

First recorded before 1000; Middle English don, dun(ne), Old English dun; cognate with Old Saxon dun; probably of Celtic origin; compare Irish donn “dark,” Welsh dwnn “brownish”

Word History and Origins

Origin of dun¹

Old English dunn; related to Old Norse dunna wild duck, Middle Irish doun dark; see dusk

Origin of dun²

C17: of unknown origin

Example Sentences

One of this crew, no surprise, ends up dead before the night is over, and an unusually somber Poirot must figure out whodunit, before he himself gets dun.

From Seattle Times

“It would go dun dun dun dun,” Bellemeur, 99, says quietly as she sits in her Pasadena retirement home.

From Los Angeles Times

It isn’t pretty; the palette runs toward dun and dull red with slashes of marine blue.

From New York Times

This year, Trump formed a “Save America” political action committee that raised an estimated $100 million, mostly by constantly dunning small-dollar donors.

From Washington Post

He shades his eyes at the floor-to-ceiling glass windows of The Star, the $1.5 billion complex that lurches out of the dun hills north of Dallas.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• annoy
• bother
• depress
• disturb
• fret
• irritate
• perturb
• plague
• trouble
• try
• unsettle
• upset