puppet
Americannoun
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an artificial figure representing a human being or an animal, manipulated by the hand, rods, wires, etc., as on a miniature stage.
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a person, group, government, etc., whose actions are prompted and controlled by another or others.
- Synonyms:
- instrument, figurehead, pawn
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a small doll.
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Machinery. poppethead.
noun
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a small doll or figure of a person or animal moved by strings attached to its limbs or by the hand inserted in its cloth body
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( as modifier )
a puppet theatre
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a person, group, state, etc, that appears independent but is in fact controlled by another
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( as modifier )
a puppet government
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of puppet
1350–1400; earlier poppet, Middle English popet, apparently alteration of Middle Low German poppe doll < Late Latin puppa, Latin pūpa doll; see -et
Explanation
A doll or figure controlled by a person so that it appears to be moving on its own is a puppet. A puppet can be fun, but if you feel like a puppet, it seems like someone is controlling you. Not fun. A puppet show, performed for an audience, is a kind of theater — with puppets instead of actors. Hand puppets' arms are controlled by the puppeteer's fingers, while marionettes have many more nuances of movement due to the strings attached to various parts of their bodies. These complex puppets can appear very human-like. Sometimes puppet means someone who is controlled by others: "He was president, but he was just a puppet for his political party."
Vocabulary lists containing puppet
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.
Elmo, the famous red puppet from Sesame Street, posted on X about the finals earlier this week.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
An animatronic puppet has been trotted out like a real-life celebrity in advance of the movie’s Friday opening, putting Grogu’s high-tech internal machinery—and the puppeteers operating it out of sight with remote controls—to the test.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
At his Senate confirmation hearing, Warsh insisted that he would "absolutely not" be a puppet for the president.
From Barron's • May 22, 2026
In such moments, he would say later, he only need remind himself of an old adage in the puppet arts.
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026
Dumbledore’s puppet had come much farther than he had ever expected...too far....
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
