doll
noun
a small figure representing a baby or other human being, especially for use as a child's toy.
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doll
1 American
[dol]
/ dɒl /
noun
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dolls
plural
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a small figure representing a baby or other human being, especially for use as a child's toy.
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a small figure representing a nonhuman character, for use as a toy.
cartoon character dolls.
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Slang.
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a pretty but expressionless or unintelligent woman.
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a girl or woman, especially one who is considered attractive.
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a boy or man who is considered attractive.
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(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).
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Informal. a generous or helpful person.
You're a doll for lending me your car.
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Slang. a barbiturate in pill form.
verb phrase
Doll
2
American
[dol]
/ dɒl /
noun
doll
British
/ dɒl /
noun
-
a small model or dummy of a human being, used as a toy
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slang a pretty girl or woman of little intelligence: sometimes used as a term of address
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of doll
First recorded in 1550–60; generic use of Doll
Explanation
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.
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:
Nearby, a young woman pushed a pram towards a crossing, carrying what appeared to be a doll.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
It’s an abstract matryoshka shape, after all, a triangle, a trinity—mother, daughter, doll.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
He answers to the nickname "Bougie" -- reportedly given him by his Egyptian-born mother, who mixed the French word for doll "poupee" with its Hebrew equivalent "buba".
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
Ms. FitzSimons writes that, as a child, she cherished her own American Girl doll and enjoyed a “last gasp of unselfconscious girlhood” via the narrative that was woven around it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
"Why does everyone have to bring a City Girls doll to the party?"
From "Sleepover Sleuths: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #1" by Carolyn Keene
“The rise in interest rates has already had a huge impact on the stock market,” said Bob Doll, chief investment officer at Crossmark Global Investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
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
In The Bear and the Doll , she brought playful charm to a comedic role, proving her range across genres.
From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2025
The mistress went up to Doll to tell her that she must let the children go.
From "145th Street: Short Stories" by Walter Dean Myers
Inmates in a women’s prison are crafting dolls in his likeness.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
By then, he was much better established and able to commission Muppets creator Jim Henson to create life sized dolls, rather than borrow dolls from the Museum of Childhood.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
Although the dolls themselves were made in Germany, the headquarters in Madison and the customer-service center in a nearby suburb brought significant growth to the local economy as an employer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
"There are days when I can't sleep," Navarro told AFP at his flat, where a battered pram containing two well-worn dolls stood by the entrance.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
The different dolls stood for different kinds of vessels.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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