hand puppet

noun

1. a puppet made of a hollow head sewn or glued to material that fits over the hand, concealing the fingers and thumb, which manipulate it.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hand puppet¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

We also like anchoring a basket with a special book, stuffed animal or toy — a sweet Folkmanis hand puppet and a white Lego rabbit are new favorites.

From New York Times

Dr. Z popped up behind the center desk like a hand puppet.

From Literature

“This one is Lamb Chop,” he said, cradling a brittle rubber head that is all that remained of a hand puppet that was the television ventriloquist Shari Lewis’s sidekick.

From New York Times

When teaching the chicks to hunt and other crane behaviors, they dress in baggy costumes with the neck of a crane-head hand puppet holding in one loose, black-tipped “wing.”

From Seattle Times

Second place receives a fabulous soft rubbery hand puppet depicting a, well, some indeterminate aquatic creature; guesses included a shark, barracuda, alligator and dinosaur.

From Washington Post