Meaning & use
frat dudes
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Meanings
nounpluralinformalAmerican
Young men who belong to a college fraternity, especially ones seen as loud or party-loving.
Grammar: Always plural; the singular is 'frat dude'. Takes a plural verb: the frat dudes are here.
Patterns
- a group of frat dudes
- frat dudes at a party
A bunch of frat dudes took over the whole beach with their speakers.
She rolled her eyes at the frat dudes shouting across the street.
He still hangs out with the same frat dudes from his freshman year.
nouncountableinformaldisapprovingAmerican
A young man who behaves in a loud, party-focused way linked to fraternity culture.
Grammar: Singular countable use; plural is 'frat dudes'. Often mildly critical.
Patterns
- act like a frat dude
- a typical frat dude
He acts like a frat dude even though he never joined a fraternity.
The bar was full of frat dudes in backwards caps.
Word forms
| singular | frat dude |
|---|
Common combinations
- a bunch of frat dudes
- A bunch of frat dudes showed up late to the lecture.
- frat dude energy
- His frat dude energy wore thin after ten minutes.
- typical frat dudes
- They looked like typical frat dudes in their matching shirts.
- frat dudes on campus
- The frat dudes on campus organized the charity run.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bro
- Also informal and American, but friendlier and not tied to college clubs.
- jocks
- Refers to sporty students rather than fraternity members, so it fits a different group.
Word family
- frat noun
- Informal short form of 'fraternity', a male college social club.
- fraternity noun
- The formal word for the student organization itself.
- frat boy noun
- Singular, often disapproving term for a young man in fraternity culture.
Commonly confused: frat dudes or fraternity?
frat dudes vs fraternity
'Fraternity' is the official club; 'frat dudes' are the members, used informally.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'frat dudes' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Frat dudes' is plural, so it needs a plural verb 'were' and no article 'a'. Option 2 matches; option 1 wrongly adds 'a', and option 3 uses a plural verb with the singular 'frat dude'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “frat dudes”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.