dun dun dun

US, UK/ˈdʌn ˌdʌn ˈdʌn/

interjection

Used as a dramatic pause, or to emphasize that something is frightening, thrilling, etc.

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Meanings

interjection
  1. informalUsed as a dramatic pause, or to emphasize that something is frightening, thrilling, etc.

    I am not going to tell you the exact locations of my stops, but my final destination (dun dun dun) is London, England. It is there that I will figure out my life purpose.

    2006, H. M. Leathem, chapter 3, in W.T.F.?: What Is Wrong with Tom Faerie, Lincoln, Neb.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 22
    2 more examples

    "All right—dun, dun, dun! Time to get measured, hon." Luke tried to play off the seriousness of my weekly face-to-face with my own potential unworthiness to be a model with this little bit, but it made me feel even worse, thinking about how many empty calories in champagne and vodka I'd slurped down since I last saw him, […]

    2007, Amanda Kerlin, Phil Oh, chapter 5, in Secrets of the Model Dorm, New York, N.Y.: Washington Square Press, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 53

    In the movie [RoboCop (1987)], central Detroit is "Old Detroit." […] When police officer Alex Murphy starts his term in Old Detroit, his fellow officers tell him, "Welcome to hell." / Dun dun dun.

    2012, Mike Draper, “Will the Last One out of the Midwest just Remember to Extinguish the Tire Fire?”, in The Midwest: God’s Gift to Planet Earth!: An Illustrated Guide to the History and Culture of the Galaxy’s most Important Region, Des Moines, Iowa: Raygun, →ISBN, part 5 (We’re #1 by a Wider Margin than Usual!), page 192

Origin

An onomatopoeic representation of a three-note dramatic sting (“short musical phrase”). See the Wikipedia article for details of its origin.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish tan-tan-tan
  • tan-tan-tanused as a dramatic pause, or to emphasize that something is frightening, thrilling, etc.

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with dun dun dun

sunrunfundonenoneeveryonesonwongunbeguntonDunndunnunbunGunnpunstuntonneundonererunshunmunthon
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

dun dun dun. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dun%20dun%20dun

MLA

“dun dun dun.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dun%20dun%20dun. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dun dun dun,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dun%20dun%20dun.

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