dude
part of speech
noun (a dude, dudes) (informal, slang, mainly US; also Canada, Australia, NZ); interjection (dude!)
meaning for a pupil
1) (slang) A man or boy; a guy: «He's a cool dude.» tree →
2) (slang) A friendly way to speak to someone, especially a friend: «Hey, dude!» tree →
3) (slang, interjection) Used to show surprise, excitement, or annoyance: «Dude! That was amazing!» tree →
4) (old, US) A city person who goes on holiday to a ranch: «dude ranch»; or a man who cares a lot about fancy clothes. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday American and Canadian talk «dude» is very common between friends; now used for any gender by some people. In stories it shows a relaxed, casual character. Phrases: «hey dude», «cool dude», «dude ranch», «Dude!», «sweet, dude».
examples
- (slang) Hey dude, want to play footy? tree →
- That skateboarder is a cool dude. tree →
- Dude! You scored from halfway! tree →
- (slang) Dude, that's my seat. tree →
- Some dude at the shop gave me the wrong change. tree →
- (old US) They spent a week at a dude ranch in Montana. tree →
note
Slang; fine with friends but not in formal writing or to teachers — use «man», «person» or the name. Plural «dudes». Tone matters: «Dude!» can sound happy or cross.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «dude» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.