Dope vs. Weed: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 26, 2023
Dope generally refers to drugs, especially illicit ones, or an idiotic person, while weed specifically denotes marijuana, a commonly used recreational drug.
Key Differences
Dope is a broader term that can refer to various drugs, illicit substances, or even a foolish person. Weed, in contrast, is specifically used to refer to marijuana, a particular type of recreational drug known for its psychoactive effects.
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Dec 26, 2023
Dope can have negative connotations, often associated with drug abuse or a derogatory term for a person. Weed, while also pertaining to drugs, is colloquially more accepted and specifically tied to marijuana culture.
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Dec 26, 2023
Dope is used in diverse contexts, from sports (performance-enhancing drugs) to street language (generic for drugs). Weed, however, is deeply rooted in cannabis culture and is often used in a more casual, social context.
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Dec 26, 2023
The legal implications of dope can vary greatly depending on the specific drug referenced. Weed, specifically marijuana, has seen evolving legal status, with medical and recreational use being legalized in some areas.
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Dec 26, 2023
Dope can also mean excellent or cool in slang, showing its versatility. Weed typically doesn't have such varied meanings and is more straightforward in its reference to marijuana.
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Dec 26, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Connotations
Often negative or derogatory
Commonly associated with cannabis culture
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Dec 26, 2023
Cultural Context
Diverse usage in sports, street language
Primarily in social, recreational contexts
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Dec 26, 2023
Legal Implications
Varies widely by the type of drug
Evolving, with increasing legalization
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Language Versatility
Can mean cool or great in slang
Typically only refers to marijuana
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Dope and Weed Definitions
Weed
Informally used in cannabis culture.
There's a shop that sells weed accessories downtown.
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Weed
A plant used for medicinal purposes.
She uses weed for her chronic pain.
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Weed
A plant considered undesirable, unattractive, or troublesome, especially one that grows where it is not wanted and often grows or spreads fast or takes the place of desired plants.
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Oct 19, 2023
Dope
(Chemistry) An absorbent or adsorbent material used in certain manufacturing processes, such as the nitroglycerin used in making dynamite.
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Oct 19, 2023
Dope
A type of lacquer formerly used to protect, waterproof, and tauten the cloth surfaces of airplane wings.
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Oct 19, 2023
Dope
Chiefly Southern US A carbonated soft drink containing an extract of the kola nut and other flavorings.
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Oct 19, 2023
Weed
To eliminate as unsuitable or unwanted. Often used with out
Weed out unqualified applicants.
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Oct 19, 2023
Weed
(countable) Any plant unwanted at the place where and at the time when it is growing.
If it isn't in a straight line or marked with a label, it's a weed.
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Oct 19, 2023
Dope
(uncountable) Any viscous liquid or paste, such as a lubricant, used in preparing a surface.
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Oct 19, 2023
Dope
Any varnish used to coat a part, such as an airplane wing or a hot-air balloon in order to waterproof, strengthen, etc.
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Oct 19, 2023
Dope
Information, usually from an inside source, originally in horse racing and other sports.
What's the latest dope on the stock market?
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Oct 19, 2023
Dope
Ballistic data on previously fired rounds, used to calculate the required hold over a target.
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Oct 19, 2023
Weed
(archaic) An article of dress worn in token of grief; a mourning garment or badge.
He wore a weed on his hat.
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Oct 19, 2023
Weed
(archaic) Especially in the plural as widow's weeds: (female) mourning apparel.
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Oct 19, 2023
Weed
(Scotland) A sudden illness or relapse, often attended with fever, which befalls those who are about to give birth, are giving birth, or have recently given birth or miscarried or aborted.
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Oct 19, 2023
Dope
To add a dopant such as arsenic to (a pure semiconductor such as silicon).
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Oct 19, 2023
Dope
To use drugs; especially, to use prohibited performance-enhancing drugs in sporting competitions.
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Oct 19, 2023
Weed
To remove unwanted vegetation from a cultivated area.
I weeded my flower bed.
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Oct 19, 2023
Weed
(library science) To systematically remove materials from a library collection based on a set of criteria.
We usually weed romance novels that haven't circulated in over a year.
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Oct 19, 2023
Dope
Any thick liquid or pasty preparation, as of opium for medicinal purposes, of grease for a lubricant, etc.
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Oct 19, 2023
Dope
Any preparation, as of opium, used to stupefy or, in the case of a race horse, to stimulate.
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Oct 19, 2023
Weed
A garment; clothing; especially, an upper or outer garment.
He on his bed sat, the soft weeds he worePut off.
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Oct 19, 2023
Dope
An absorbent material; esp., in high explosives, the sawdust, infusorial earth, mica, etc., mixed with nitroglycerin to make a damp powder (dynamite, etc.) less dangerous to transport, and ordinarily explosive only by suitable fulminating caps.
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Oct 19, 2023
Weed
An article of dress worn in token of grief; a mourning garment or badge; as, he wore a weed on his hat; especially, in the plural, mourning garb, as of a woman; as, a widow's weeds.
In a mourning weed, with ashes upon her head, and tears abundantly flowing.
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Oct 19, 2023
Dope
Information concerning the previous performances of race horses, or other facts concerning them which may be of assistance in judging of their chances of winning future races; similar information concerning other sports; by extension, any information not generally known, especially when coming from an inside source; as, the inside dope.
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Oct 19, 2023
Weed
A sudden illness or relapse, often attended with fever, which attacks women in childbed.
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Oct 19, 2023
Weed
Underbrush; low shrubs.
One rushing forth out of the thickest weed.
A wild and wanton pard . . . Crouched fawning in the weed.
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Oct 19, 2023
Weed
Any plant growing in cultivated ground to the injury of the crop or desired vegetation, or to the disfigurement of the place; an unsightly, useless, or injurious plant.
Too much manuring filled that field with weeds.
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Oct 19, 2023
Weed
To free from noxious plants; to clear of weeds; as, to weed corn or onions; to weed a garden.
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Oct 19, 2023
Dope
Carbonated drink flavored with extract from Kola nuts (`dope' is a southernism in the United States)
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Oct 19, 2023
Weed
To take away, as noxious plants; to remove, as something hurtful; to extirpate; - commonly used with out; as, to weed out inefficiency from an enterprise.
Wise fathers . . . weeding from their children ill things.
Revenge is a kind of wild justice, which the more man's nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out.
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Oct 19, 2023
Weed
To free from anything hurtful or offensive.
He weeded the kingdom of such as were devoted to Elaiana.
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Oct 19, 2023
Dope
Add impurities to (a semiconductor) in order to produce or modify its properties;
The resistors have been doped
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Dope
Give a narcotic to;
The athletes were dope by the coach before the race
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Dope
Illicit drugs, generally.
He was caught carrying dope across the border.
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Dec 26, 2023
Dope
A foolish or stupid person.
Don't be such a dope, think before you act.
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Dope
Performance-enhancing drugs in sports.
The athlete was disqualified for doping.
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Weed
Cannabis, used for its psychoactive effects.
They were discussing the different strains of weed.
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Dope
Informal term for any substance causing euphoria.
They were looking for some dope to liven up the party.
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Dec 26, 2023
Repeatedly Asked Queries
Does dope have positive slang meanings?
Yes, as in something cool or awesome.
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Dec 26, 2023
Does dope have a specific drug it refers to?
Not specifically, it's a general term.
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Dec 26, 2023
Is calling someone a dope offensive?
It can be, as it implies they're foolish.
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Dec 26, 2023
Does dope have legal uses?
Some drugs referred to as dope have medical uses.
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Dec 26, 2023
Are there health risks to smoking weed?
There can be, especially with heavy use.
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Dec 26, 2023
Can dope be a term of endearment?
Rarely, it's usually derogatory or slang for cool.
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Dec 26, 2023
What are the effects of weed?
It can cause relaxation, euphoria, and altered perception.
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Dec 26, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.