dung
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
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excrement, esp of animals; manure
-
( as modifier )
dung cart
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something filthy
verb
Other Word Forms
- dungy adjective
Etymology
Origin of dung
before 1000; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Low German, German dung; compare Icelandic dyngja heap, dung, Swedish dynga dung, muck, Old High German tunga manuring
Explanation
Dung means animal droppings or waste. If you work at an elephant sanctuary, you're likely to spend a lot of time shoveling up elephant dung. Dung is a tidy word for an untidy substance — animal poop. When farmers talk about cow dung or chicken dung, they'll probably call it manure instead. Some dung causes problems, like the runoff of pig dung into lakes and rivers, while other dung is used to help fertilize vegetable gardens. Dung is an Old English word, from a Germanic root — in Old High German, a tung was an underground room that was covered with dung for warmth.
Vocabulary lists containing dung
Metaphors from Top AP English Exam Novels
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Home of the Brave
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"Death of a Naturalist" by Seamus Heaney
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In “The Getaway”—filmed twice for the big screen—Doc and Carol McCoy conclude their escape hiding in caves, then a hut made of dung, before they end up in the infernal domain of El Rey.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026
Her neighbour, 45-year-old Munni Bai, who has asthma, had switched to using an electric cooker as well as biogas from cow dung, to help her breathing.
From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026
Of particular concern are dung-feeding insects such as flies, dung beetles, and some butterflies.
From Science Daily • Feb. 22, 2026
“Powdered stone worked. So did lizard’s blood and crocodile dung, and pig’s teeth and dolphin’s genitalia and frog’s sperm,” as psychologist Irving Kirsch later explained it.
From Slate • Jan. 30, 2026
He grabbed a handful of soapwort leaves, mashed them in water, and washed off the last of the wolverine dung.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
