dummy

[ duhm-ee ]

noun

, plural dum·mies.

1. an imitation, representation, or copy of something, such as for display, testing, or use as a stage prop:

   On the counter was a display of lipstick dummies made of colored plastic.

   This slide presentation is just a dummy to try out the template I made.

2. a representation of a human figure for displaying or fitting clothes; mannequin:

   When I put the dress on the dummy to pin the hem, I saw a few spots where it wasn't quite symmetrical.

3. Informal. a stupid person; dolt:

   Only a dummy would fall for that scam.

4. a person who has nothing to say or who takes no active part in affairs:

   I was on the board only as a dummy, signing what the other directors told me to.

5. someone or something put forward with the appearance of acting independently while secretly acting for people who do not appear to be involved:

   The property deed was in her name, but she was only a dummy for a labor trafficking ring.

6. Slang.
   1. Older Use: Offensive. a person who is not able to speak.
   2. a person who is characteristically and habitually silent.
7. Bridge.
   1. the declarer's partner, whose hand is exposed and played by the declarer.
   2. the hand of cards so exposed.
   3. a game so played.
   4. an imaginary player represented by an exposed hand that is played by and serves as partner to one of the players.
8. Chiefly British. pacifier ( def 2 ).
9. Printing. sheets folded and made up to show the size, shape, form, sequence, and general style of a contemplated piece of printing:

   We’ll be using better quality paper than you see in this dummy.

10. a rammer for pushing out dents in lead pipe.
11. Computers. an artificial address, instruction, or other piece of data fed into a computer only to fulfill prescribed conditions and not affecting operations for solving problems.
12. Military. a nonexplosive bomb used for practice exercises.
13. Sports. a completed or feigned throw, pass, shot, etc., intended to mislead an opponent (also used attributively):

    He threw a dummy to shake off his blocker and create just enough space to fire a shot into the net.

    The defending player was completely sidetracked by the dummy pass, allowing us to score.

14. Dentistry. pontic ( def ).

adjective

1. being or relating to an imitation, representation, or copy:

   Some businesses use dummy cameras along with a few live ones to deter thieves.

2. performed as a trial or practice run:

   We played a dummy round to learn the rules of the game without counting points.

3. counterfeit; sham; fictitious:

   One group in the study took one tablet of the drug daily, while the other group was given dummy pills.

   He created a few dummy friends on his page to make it look like he had more.

4. put forward or set up with the appearance of acting independently while secretly acting for people who do not appear to be involved:

   Two city councilors formed a dummy construction company so they could pay themselves inflated prices for the work done.

5. Cards. played with a partner whose hand is exposed.

verb (used with object)

, dum·mied, dum·my·ing.

1. Printing. to prepare a blank or empty test copy of (often followed by up ):

   The designer dummied up the book so we could study the format.

2. to represent in a test copy or version (often followed by in ):

   We dummied in a few illustrations to show the proposed layout for the homepage.

3. Sports.
   1. to pretend to make or receive (a throw, pass, etc.) in order to mislead one’s opponent:

      The forward dummied the free kick before it reached his teammate, who immediately scored.

   2. to mislead (an opponent) in this way:

      She dummied her tackler before firing a low shot past the defense.

verb (used without object)

1. Sports. to pretend to make or receive a throw, pass, etc.:

   He dummied and then threw to another player.

verb phrase

1. Informal. to keep silent; refuse to answer:

   If anybody asks you, just dummy up.

dummy

/ ˈdʌmɪ /

noun

1. a figure representing the human form, used for displaying clothes, in a ventriloquist's act, as a target, etc
2. 1. a copy or imitation of an object, often lacking some essential feature of the original
   2. ( as modifier )

      a dummy drawer

3. slang.
   a stupid person; fool
4. derogatory.
   a person without the power of speech; mute
5. informal.
   a person who says or does nothing
6. 1. a person who appears to act for himself while acting on behalf of another
   2. ( as modifier )

      a dummy buyer

7. military a weighted round without explosives, used in drill and training
8. bridge
   1. the hand exposed on the table by the declarer's partner and played by the declarer
   2. the declarer's partner
9. 1. a prototype of a proposed book, indicating the general appearance and dimensions of the finished product
   2. a designer's layout of a page indicating the positions for illustrations, etc
10. a feigned pass or move in a sport such as football or rugby
11. a rubber teat for babies to suck or bite on US and Canadian equivalentpacifier
12. modifier counterfeit; sham
13. modifier (of a card game) played with one hand exposed or unplayed

verb

1. to prepare a dummy of (a proposed book, page, etc)
2. Alsosell someone a dummy sport to use a dummy pass in order to trick (an opponent)

dummy

1. In a corporation , one who stands in for a real director or who serves as a nominal director during the organization of the corporation until the stockholders can elect directors.

Sensitive Note

See dumb.

Word History and Origins

Origin of dummy¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; 1915–20, Americanism dummy fordef 24; dumb + -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of dummy¹

C16: see dumb , -y ³

Example Sentences

At a later date, all of the volunteers were given either a single dose of prescribed sodium-oxybate liquid medicine or a dummy or placebo.

From BBC

Prosecutors said she had failed to notice that live bullets had been mixed with dummy rounds in a box of ammunition on set – one of which was in the firearm used by Baldwin.

From BBC

Even more insulting, these accusations of us as puppetmasters devalues Jason, presuming him to be, as he himself points out, “the mindless dummy.”

From Salon

Police say they were the dummy crates, which bore the same resemblance and bar codes as the ones that had been intercepted.

From BBC

In January of this year, a dummy door panel in the fuselage of an Alaskan Airline 737 Max blew out in flight, resulting in a grounding of eight months.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• idiot