A cavity dumped, synchronously pumped femtosecond dye laser is newly described. The laser has a linear cavity configuration with a controller of group velocity dispersion, resulting in pulses as short as 160–240 fs with a peak power of 55 kW. Utilizing a polarization‐preserving fiber and a pair of Brewster‐angled TeO2prisms, optical pulses as short as 56 fs with a peak power of 188 kW have been realized at a repetition rate of 3.8 MHz.