puppeteer
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of puppeteer
Explanation
A puppeteer is a person who works a puppet, making it move and appear to talk. A puppeteer might do this by putting her hand inside the puppet and moving its arms and head. Puppets come in many different shapes, sizes, and styles, and they all need at least one puppeteer to operate them. Marionettes are puppets with strings, attached to parts of their bodies, that are worked from overhead by puppeteers. Hand puppets are manipulated from below, and some giant puppets require several puppeteers to move their limbs and heads. The Middle English root word is popet, "doll," from the Latin word pupa, "doll or girl."
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.
Puppeteer Rachel Leonard said bringing the bridge back was "very special".
From BBC • Dec. 15, 2022
One year ago: Puppeteer Caroll Spinney, who voiced and operated Muppets Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on “Sesame Street” for nearly 50 years, died at his Connecticut home at the age of 85.
From Washington Times • Dec. 8, 2020
Puppeteer Art Vega has worked at the “Disney Junior — Live on Stage!” show at Disney California Adventure for 14 years, delighting children with performances featuring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2017
Puppeteer Henson, the creative mind behind the long-running children's shows "Sesame Street" and "The Muppet Show," died in 1990.
From Reuters • Sep. 24, 2013
Tina Modotti's celebrated Hands of the Puppeteer, massive and tangled in fine strings like Gulliver tied down by the Lilliputians, shows her gift for capturing the sensual materiality of life.
From The Guardian • Jul. 6, 2013
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.
