To dub means to give someone or something a nickname or title. When a newspaper dubs a basketball player “The Professor” because of his smart plays, they've given him a memorable name that captures something about who he is. A city might get dubbed “The Big Apple,” or a building might get dubbed “The Tower of Terror” by people who visit it.

The word suggests a name that sticks, often because it fits so well. Teachers might dub a particularly creative student “The Idea Factory,” or your friends might dub your dog “The Escape Artist” after she figures out how to open the backyard gate for the third time. Once something gets dubbed with the right name, that's often what everyone calls it from then on.

Dub has another, unrelated meaning: adding sound to a video or film. When a movie is dubbed from Japanese into English, actors record English dialogue that replaces the original Japanese voices. Studios also dub in sound effects, like footsteps or door slams, after filming. If the dubbing isn't done carefully, you might notice the actors' lips don't quite match the words you're hearing.