Music
dope
What does dope mean?
Excellent, outstanding, or of the highest quality, used as strong praise.
"That beat is dope, the drums hit so hard."
Origin
An 80s hip-hop reclamation of 'dope', a word once meaning drugs, flipped to mean excellent in the same tradition that turned 'ill' and 'bad' into praise.
Frequently asked questions
What does dope mean in slang?
As hip-hop praise it means excellent, high quality, or impressive, despite the word's older drug meaning.
Where did dope come from?
From 80s hip-hop, which flipped 'dope' from its drug sense into a compliment, following the same pattern as 'ill' and 'bad'.
Is calling something dope an insult?
No, in slang it's a strong compliment meaning excellent or cool.
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Vocabulary Flow — saved to your collection.
