American English
/dəm/
One syllable.
Stupid, or showing very poor judgment.
In very fast natural speech, the vowel in “dumb” can become extremely short, so you may hear a sound close to “dumb” (/dm̩/).
Stupid, or showing very poor judgment.
That was a dumb idea.
I made a dumb mistake.
Dumb can sound insulting when you use it about a person. Say “That was a dumb idea,” not “You are dumb,” unless you mean to insult someone.
dumb idea · dumb mistake · dumb question
a dumb + noun
It is dumb to + verb
Unable to speak. This use is old-fashioned or offensive when it describes a person.
The old story called him deaf and dumb.
She was dumb with shock.
For a person who cannot speak, use unable to speak. Dumb can sound offensive.
Basic and able to do only a few things, especially without another computer or system to control it.
He still uses a dumb phone.
The monitor is a dumb terminal.
In dumb phone, dumb means basic, not stupid.
dumb phone · dumb terminal
Success that happens by chance rather than skill.
We won by dumb luck.
Pretend not to know or understand something.
He played dumb when I asked about the money.
Make something too simple by removing useful detail.
The article was dumbed down for children.