English Reference
verb · noun

dub

v. · n.
US /ˈdəb/ UK /dˈʌb/ dub

  1. 01 B2 Upper Intermediate

    v.to give someone or something a particular name or nickname.

    v.to confer a name, title, or nickname upon a person or thing. Transitive; often used in the passive voice.

    Simple

    The media dubbed him the 'King of Pop' because of his huge success.

    In context

    The press quickly dubbed the new skyscraper 'The Shard' due to its distinctive glass exterior and sharp, angular peak.

  2. 02 B2 Upper Intermediate

    v.to replace the original speech in a film with a translation in another language.

    v.to provide a film or television programme with a new soundtrack, typically a synchronized translation of the original dialogue.

    Simple

    I prefer watching foreign movies with subtitles rather than dubbed versions.

    In context

    The studio decided to dub the animated feature into twelve different languages to maximize its international box-office potential.

    voice over
  3. 03 C2 Proficiency Formal

    v.to make someone a knight by touching their shoulders with a sword.

    v.to confer knighthood upon a person by the ceremonial tapping of the shoulder with a sword.

    Simple

    The Queen dubbed the explorer a knight for his services to science.

    In context

    In a traditional ceremony, the monarch dubbed the veteran diplomat a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.

  4. 04 C1 Advanced SlangInformal

    n.a slang word for a victory or a win.

    n.a slang term for a victory, derived from the phonetic pronunciation of the letter 'W'.

    Simple

    Our team played great today and we finally got the dub.

    In context

    After a grueling overtime period, the squad managed to secure the dub and advance to the regional finals.

Analysts dub this phenomenon "screen tourism," the kind that encourages visits to film and TV locations, a trend which is particularly popular among Millennials and Generation Z.

The Local· 5 Sept 2026

Fire Rush announced a singular literary talent: a novelist capable of fusing the propulsive rhythms of dub music with the spiritual inheritance of African spiritualism, defying conventional realism.

The Guardian· 6 Aug 2026

Etymology 1

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.

Etymology 2

1505-1515

Etymology 3

1885-90. Imitative; see also flub, flubdub.

Etymology 4

From a shortening of the word double.

Etymology 5

From Celtic; compare Irish dobhar (“water”), Welsh dŵr (“water”).

Etymology 6

From shortening of double dime (“twenty”).

Etymology 7

From dup (“to open”), from do + up, from Middle English don up (“to open”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin ine-pro *dʰewbʰ-
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Frequent
Updated