{{Short description|Ammunition or explosive that fails to fire or detonate}} {{other uses}} {{Wiktionary}} {{refimprove|date=March 2013}}
{{multiple image | width = | image1 = Dud Shell, Argonne Forest, ca. 1918 (6001502407) (cropped).jpg | caption1 = Dud shell lodged in a tree, Argonne Forest, First World War | image2 = WWI English dud bomb (cropped).JPG | caption2 = British dud during World War I | total_width = 360 }}
A '''dud''' is in general something that fails to function in the way it is intended to.<ref name=oed>{{Cite OED|dud|id=1145117759}}</ref> In a military context the word is often used to refer to an ammunition round or explosive that fails to fire or detonate as expected. Devices designed or built poorly—for example, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and bombs with over-complicated fuses—have higher chances of being duds.{{citation needed|date = March 2013}} They must be deactivated and disposed of carefully. In war-torn areas, many curious children have been injured or killed from tampering with such devices.
The variation '''absolute dud''' describes a nuclear weapon that fails to explode.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20010624203544/http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict/data/a/00013.html DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms]</ref> (A nuclear weapon which does explode, but does not achieve its expected power, is termed a fizzle.)
==Etymology== The term descends from the Middle English ''dudde'', originally meaning worn-out or ragged clothing, and is a cognate of ''duds'' (i.e., "clothing") and ''dowdy''. Eventually ''dud'' became a general pejorative for something useless, including ammunition. The word's use is attested from 1355.<ref name=oed/>
==See also== {{Wiktionary|dud|duds}} * Bomb disposal * Firearm malfunction * Unexploded ordnance
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Ammunition