a small figure representing a baby or other human being, especially for use as a child's toy.
a small figure representing a nonhuman character, for use as a toy.
cartoon character dolls.
Slang.
a pretty but expressionless or unintelligent woman.
a girl or woman, especially one who is considered attractive.
a boy or man who is considered attractive.
(sometimes initial capital letter) an affectionate or familiar term of address, as to a child or romantic partner (sometimes offensive when used to strangers, casual acquaintances, subordinates, etc., especially by a male to a female).
Informal. a generous or helpful person.
You're a doll for lending me your car.
Slang. a barbiturate in pill form.
a small model or dummy of a human being, used as a toy
slang a pretty girl or woman of little intelligence: sometimes used as a term of address
First recorded in 1550–60; generic use of Doll
A doll is a toy that looks like a small person, often a baby. When kids play with dolls, they might dress them up, push them in toy strollers, and have pretend tea parties with them. Some dolls are the size of real babies and are played with in a way that's a kind of practice parenting — like pretending to feed and bathe a doll. Other dolls are much smaller and represent people of varying ages, like a family of dolls that are played with in a doll house, sitting at little tables and sleeping in tiny beds. The word doll is also an old-fashioned, slightly offensive term for a woman, especially one who's young and pretty.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There was a bicentennial Barbie and a colonial Campbell’s Soup doll.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
The action-comedy favourite once again stars Tim Allen as spaceman Buzz Lightyear, Tom Hanks as a pull-string cowboy doll named Woody, and Joan Cusack as cowgirl Jessie.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
Setup: Woody, a pull-string doll from the 1950s and the favorite of his owner Andy, feels threatened by the newfangled interloper.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
He praised cowgirl doll Jessie's "promotion" to lead character, referring to the character's emotional journey while revisiting her first owner.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
"I want the whole world to know I have a Hollywood Heather doll!"
From "Sleepover Sleuths: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #1" by Carolyn Keene
His abstract painting "Doll Boy" -- a reference to his crush on the pop singer Cliff Richard -- caught the eye of the art dealer John Kasmin, who bought it for £40.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Pretti died near Glam Doll Donuts, along another vibrant stretch of diverse, immigrant-owned restaurants known as Eat Street.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2026
“Stocks are priced for near perfection,” said Bob Doll, chief investment officer at Crossmark Global Investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 2026
In The Bear and the Doll , she brought playful charm to a comedic role, proving her range across genres.
From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2025
“Have I ever told you about a woman named Doll in our family history?”
From "145th Street: Short Stories" by Walter Dean Myers
Since the late 1960s, Saar has transformed washboards, dolls, clocks, family photographs, racist memorabilia and other salvaged materials into emotionally charged assemblages now held in the permanent collections of more than 60 museums.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Companies are also making talking products targeted at isolated, elderly users -- such as the lamp-like ElliQ in the United States, or ChatGPT-powered care dolls used in some South Korean retirement homes.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
"An obstetrician! I love babies, and I played obstetrician with my dolls, even if I was far too young to know how any of that works."
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
The chocolate itself is now often reduced to a meme about TikTok-trend overconsumption often lumped into the category of Labubu dolls, matcha and Crumbl Cookies.
From Salon ● May 6, 2026
Groups of people stagger away from the waterfront holding armfuls of clothing, pushing prams piled with wireless sets, clocks, books, dolls.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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.
