From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdumbdumb1 /dʌm/ ●●○ S3 adjective 1 STUPID/NOT INTELLIGENT informal stupid What a dumb question. a bunch of dumb kids ‘What is it?’ I asked, playing dumb (=pretending to be stupid). She’s no dumb blonde (=a pretty woman with blonde hair who seems stupid).► see thesaurus at stupid2 MISHOCKunable to speak, because you are angry, surprised, shocked etc He stared at the burnt-out car in dumb disbelief. She was struck dumb with terror.3 MI old-fashioned someone who is dumb is not able to speak at all. Many people think that this use is offensive → mute → deaf and dumb at deaf(1)4 → dumb luck5 → dumb animals/creatures —dumbly adverb For a few seconds she gazed dumbly at him. —dumbness noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
dumb• He knew they were trying to tell him something in the sign language used by the deaf and dumb.• It was definitely an intelligent thing to do, but so dumb.• She was born deaf and dumb.• The athletic guys were seen as 'cute but dumb'.• I can't get my dumb car to start.• You're so dumb, Clarissa!• If we look dumb enough, someone's bound to come and help us out.• She told him Jeff was just a friend, and he was dumb enough to believe her.• That's a dumb idea.• He stared in dumb misery at the wreckage of the car.• The dumb ones are too smart to fight.• The means of grace are therefore for all of us, deaf, dumb, or destitute.• Maginn also took part in the debate concerning the intermarriage of deaf and dumb people.• And um, questions, there are no dumb questions, right?• She's always asking such dumb questions.• Oh, I just did the dumbest thing back there, I forgot my briefcase.• The dumb thing is, this is your cameraman mentality, he goes up with these guys who are ice climbing.• The kitchen is equipped along old-fashioned lines, and meals reach the dining room via a dumb waiter.dumb blonde• But she isn't just a dumb blonde.• No such thing as a dumb blonde?• The big thing about Butch is that she isn't just a dumb blonde, as she herself stressed.• Miss Windsor was always much more intelligent than the all-bust-and-bum dumb blonde image she had created for herself.struck dumb• I stood there, struck dumb.• I was told it was Duart was struck dumb.• One edged remark, and she would be struck dumb.• She could not speak to the woman; she had been struck dumb.• At times 25,000-plus onlookers were struck dumb by tension and anticipation, a hiccup resounding like a roar.• Once again I was struck dumb by the mystery of the world.• No wonder the computer wizards were struck dumb by the place; the narcissistic attraction must have been overwhelming.• The crowd was struck dumb by the sight of the hanging.dumbdumb2 verb → dumb something ↔ down→ See Verb tableOrigin dumb1 Old English 