What does dudder mean?
Dudder is a rare verb and noun for shaking or trembling, especially in a sudden, uncontrollable way. As a verb, it describes a person or thing that quivers: hands may dudder with fear, a vehicle may dudder over rough ground, or a structure may begin to dudder under strain. As a noun, a dudder is the shaking itself, as in a brief tremor through a crowd or the sudden movement of a loose panel. The word has an old-fashioned, somewhat literary or dialectal character, so shudder and tremble are much more usual in contemporary English. Although uncommon, dudder is useful because it gives a vivid, slightly dramatic name to motion that is more disruptive than an ordinary tremble. It should not be confused with dodder: a thing can dudder by shaking, whereas a person dodders when moving weakly or unsteadily.
To shake or tremble suddenly or uncontrollably.
"The old bridge began to dudder beneath the lorry's weight."
Chiefly dialectal, archaic, or literary; uncommon in ordinary modern English.
A sudden or uncontrollable shaking or trembling.
"A sudden dudder passed through the crowd as the scaffolding shifted."
Chiefly dialectal, archaic, or literary; uncommon in ordinary modern English.
The plural is grammatically regular but rarely needed because the word itself is uncommon.
"A series of small dudders ran through the old building."
Once an everyday word for shaking, dudder now sounds like the very tremor it describes.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Related word forms
How dudder is actually used
The word is uncommon in standard contemporary English and has a dialectal, archaic, or literary character. Modern speakers usually choose shudder, tremble, or shake instead.
Easily confused with dudder
Dudder means to shake or tremble, whereas dodder usually means to move weakly or unsteadily, especially from old age.