Doll

¹ American  

[dol] / dɒl /

noun

1. a female given name, form of Dorothy.

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doll ² American  

[dol] / dɒl /

noun

1. a small figure representing a baby or other human being, especially for use as a child's toy.

2. a small figure representing a nonhuman character, for use as a toy.

   cartoon character dolls.

3. Slang.

   1. a pretty but expressionless or unintelligent woman.

   2. a girl or woman, especially one who is considered attractive.

   3. a boy or man who is considered attractive.

   4. (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).

4. Informal. a generous or helpful person.

   You're a doll for lending me your car.

5. Slang. a barbiturate in pill form.

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verb phrase

1. doll up

   1. to dress, groom, or style oneself in an elegant or ostentatiously fashionable manner.

      She got all dolled up for an evening at the opera.

   2. to make more attractive, as by decorating or embellishing.

      The street was dolled up with showy flowers and colorful banners.

doll British  

/ dɒl /

noun

1. a small model or dummy of a human being, used as a toy

2. slang a pretty girl or woman of little intelligence: sometimes used as a term of address

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Other Word Forms

• doll-like adjective
• dollish adjective
• dollishly adverb
• dollishness noun

Etymology

Origin of doll

First recorded in 1550–60; generic use of Doll

Example Sentences

The answer to that question of desire over need was the table full of stuffed animals and footballs, dolls and trucks.

From Los Angeles Times

This tragedy occurred a few weeks before Christmas, so I was hoping to get new dolls to forget about the dogs.

From The Wall Street Journal

The “M3GAN” dolls were so lifelike, and the real sell wasn’t their eyes that draw you in, but the skin.

From Los Angeles Times

Forever spouting hilariously wrong theories about the Traitors, I started to feel bad for him when his teammates made fun of him as he sang backwards lullabies played by creepy dolls.

From Los Angeles Times

The word “empathy” gets thrown around like a rag doll.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• figurine
• model
• puppet