puppet
Americannoun
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puppets
plural
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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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
They married four months later, dropped out school and launched their television evangelism careers as hosts of a children’s puppet show on Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
He has more affection for the rapidly declining feline, portrayed by a puppet, than the humans he’s putting in harm’s way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
In the basement: what I believe are my first pair of hockey skates, a broken papier-mâché Groucho Marx puppet, and a Green Bay Packers helmet I hand-painted in fourth grade.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
I like going to the coffee shop where the barista remembers that I take my mint tea iced and unsweetened, and I remember that she has a puppet showcase coming up.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
At that word, the old man nodded all at once, one nod, like a sad old puppet on strings.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Most of Workman’s tales are fact-based and reenacted with puppets, although she also stumbles off-site to her local dive bar or her apartment for occasional “Interview with a Demon” segments.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
But don’t despair, as there’s still, at the time of writing, a chance to see troupe’s puppets in a spooky-yet-goofy show this fall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
The computer wizards also added actions the puppets couldn’t pull off, like eating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
The chain bundled food with items like character buttons, wooden nickels, hand puppets and drinking glasses.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
Henson and his coworkers created puppets who could walk and talk with the adults of the show and could live alongside them on the street.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
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