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baby doll

American  
Also babydoll

noun

  • baby dolls
    plural
  1. a doll, especially one resembling a human baby.

  2. Also called baby doll nightgown,.  Also called baby doll pajamas.  Often baby dolls. a garment for women or girls consisting of a hip-length top of delicate fabric often decorated with ruffles, ribbons, or lace, with a matching panty, worn for sleeping.

  3. a short dress styled to resemble this.


Usage

What else does baby doll mean? In the literal, a baby doll is just that—a toy baby doll. But it is also a term of endearment for a woman and a style of high-waisted women's dress and nightgown.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of baby doll

First recorded in 1860–65

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:

In the Netflix film, Swan demonstrates with calipers on a life-size, anatomically correct male baby doll in a coffee shop to the nervous titters of the participants.

From Slate Apr. 16, 2026

Then the punchline: "But I'm immortal now, baby doll."

From BBC Oct. 3, 2025

The first “Barbie” teaser trailer has arrived to disrupt our expectations of a movie based on a toy — much like Barbie apparently disrupted the baby doll industry.

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 16, 2022

Imagine you're strolling through a park and you overhear a middle-aged couple cooing over each other, doting over their "wittle sugar pwum" and "baby doll."

From Salon Dec. 18, 2021

He gestured down the hall, where Nelson Lippincott was sleeping in his wheelchair and Ginny Koong was crooning a lullaby to her plastic baby doll.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

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