dirtybud

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noun

A mediocre earbud with poor audio quality, especially one that is cheap, a bootleg or a knockoff.

Similar
nuggbud
Scrabble 15
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Meanings

noundirtybud (plural dirtybuds)

plural dirtybuds

  1. neologismslangA mediocre earbud with poor audio quality, especially one that is cheap, a bootleg or a knockoff.

    SWAP NOW, AS A AUDIOPHILE GO NOW, DONT USE DIRTYBUDS USE GOOD EARBUDS

    2024 September 30, @cc_goten, Twitter
    4 more examples

    Ahaha! I'm hopefully hitting up a Cashies in the new year as I’ve seen buckets of bootleg ipod dirtybuds. Definitely want to try to blow some up 👀

    2020 December 26, @PodsDank, Twitter

    Oh I already knew that I just didn’t expect the plug-in to make all my audio sound like I had 5 dollar bargain bin dirtybuds on

    2021 December 6, @siverstorm, Twitter

    The only things really on my radar right now are openheart's $10 and $20 buds, the fiio em3s, and the bgvp dx5's. I don't mind the apple dirtybud shape/style either, just don't know of anything quality that uses it.

    2022 September 6, u/Gobbelcoque, “Need a pair of flat (non-in-ear) earbuds”, in r/iems, Reddit

    I remember when I was so happy with my USB-Stick/mp3player, no name dirtybud and YouTube rips 🤤. I'm somehow unable to find that "Zen" with my current setup somehow.

    2023 January 20, “This was my endgame 8 years ago. What’s next?”, in r/headphones, Reddit

    Synonyms: nuggbud

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA mediocre earbud with poor audio quality, especially one that is cheap, a bootleg or a knockoff.

Similar
nuggbud

Origin

From dirty (“out of tune”) + earbud (“a small earphone designed to be placed in the ear canal for use with portable sound systems”). Popularised by the videos of Australian tech YouTuber, drummer and audiophile Wade "DankPods" Nixon since the late 2010s and early 2020s.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

dirtybud. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dirtybud

MLA

“dirtybud.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dirtybud. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dirtybud,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dirtybud.

Source: dirtybud on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.