doll
noun
a small figure representing a baby or other human being, especially for use as a child's toy.
doll
1 American
[dol]
/ dɒl /
noun
-
dolls
plural
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a small figure representing a baby or other human being, especially for use as a child's toy.
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a small figure representing a nonhuman character, for use as a toy.
cartoon character dolls.
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Slang.
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a pretty but expressionless or unintelligent woman.
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a girl or woman, especially one who is considered attractive.
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a boy or man who is considered attractive.
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(sometimes initial capital letter) an affectionate or familiar term of address, as to a child or romantic partner (sometimes offensive when used to strangers, casual acquaintances, subordinates, etc., especially by a male to a female).
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Informal. a generous or helpful person.
You're a doll for lending me your car.
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Slang. a barbiturate in pill form.
verb phrase
Doll
2
American
[dol]
/ dɒl /
noun
doll
British
/ dɒl /
noun
-
a small model or dummy of a human being, used as a toy
-
slang a pretty girl or woman of little intelligence: sometimes used as a term of address
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of doll
First recorded in 1550–60; generic use of Doll
Explanation
A doll is a toy that looks like a small person, often a baby. When kids play with dolls, they might dress them up, push them in toy strollers, and have pretend tea parties with them. Some dolls are the size of real babies and are played with in a way that's a kind of practice parenting — like pretending to feed and bathe a doll. Other dolls are much smaller and represent people of varying ages, like a family of dolls that are played with in a doll house, sitting at little tables and sleeping in tiny beds. The word doll is also an old-fashioned, slightly offensive term for a woman, especially one who's young and pretty.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Until the 1993 introduction of Addy Walker, a black doll whose first book narrates the character’s escape from slavery, all of the dolls were white and came with stories of well-off households.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
On screen, even 2023's smash-hit Barbie showed the iconic doll expressing frustration with her supposedly picture-perfect world.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
The 40-inch doll made by Carousel for Reubens’ JCPenney-exclusive line in the late 1980s is one of the rarest Pee-wee Herman collectibles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
“I must bring the doll back to Taiwan. I also want to bring Meituan back to Taiwan,” she said—a nod to importing the mainland’s tech-driven delivery services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Maggie had brown hair, dark eyes, skin like a porcelain doll.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
His abstract painting "Doll Boy" -- a reference to his crush on the pop singer Cliff Richard -- caught the eye of the art dealer John Kasmin, who bought it for £40.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
As well as the new single and tour, both Pussycat Dolls albums - PCD and Doll Domination - will be reissued with previously unreleased tracks.
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2026
Pretti died near Glam Doll Donuts, along another vibrant stretch of diverse, immigrant-owned restaurants known as Eat Street.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2026
“Stocks are priced for near perfection,” said Bob Doll, chief investment officer at Crossmark Global Investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 2026
Without it, Richard Doll would not have been able to prove, in 1950, that smoking causes lung cancer.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
"There are days when I can't sleep," Navarro told AFP at his flat, where a battered pram containing two well-worn dolls stood by the entrance.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
"It's sort of like Russian nesting dolls because you have grog within grog within grog. You can trace this back several generations of pots," Wallis said.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
The auction features Pee-wee’s iconic gray suit and other costumes, red Schwinn bicycles, dolls, puppets, claymation figures, scripts and more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
I was a big fan when succulents became a dumb little trend, because at least that was boosting an interest in plants rather than mass-produced ugly dolls from China or something.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
But in between were a dozen teeth, each slightly bigger than the last, each a perfect enlargement of the one that came before it, like Russian dolls.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
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