/ dʌd; NAmE / noun , adjective
■ noun
1.
[ C ] ( informal ) a thing that is useless, especially because it does not work correctly :
Two of the fireworks in the box were duds.
2.
duds [ pl. ] ( slang ) clothes
■ adjective
[ only before noun ] useless; that does not work correctly :
a dud battery
a dud cheque (= written by sb who has not enough money in their bank account)
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (in the sense item of clothing): of unknown origin.