mannequin

American  

[man-i-kin] / ˈmæn ɪ kɪn /

Or manikin

noun

• mannequins
  plural

1. a styled and three-dimensional representation of the human form used in window displays, as of clothing; dummy.

2. a wooden figure or model of the human figure used by tailors, dress designers, etc., for fitting or making clothes.

3. a person employed to wear clothing to be photographed or to be displayed before customers, buyers, etc.; a clothes model.

4. lay figure.

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mannequin British  

/ ˈmænɪkɪn /

noun

1. a woman who wears the clothes displayed at a fashion show; model

2. a life-size dummy of the human body used to fit or display clothes

3. arts another name for lay figure

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mannequins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mannequin

1560–70; < French < Dutch; see manikin

Explanation

A mannequin is a human-like figure that's usually used to display clothing in a store. A mannequin in a department store window can look quite normal, but a mannequin in someone's home can look downright creepy. Any store that sells clothes is likely to have at least a few mannequins, so shoppers can see what dresses and sweaters and hats look like on a (fake) person's body. Another kind of mannequin, more often called a "dressmaker's dummy" is helpful to someone who's sewing a skirt or piecing together a suit. Still other mannequins are used to practice emergency techniques, from CPR to water rescues by the Coast Guard.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mannequin mannequins

Just inside the door, there was a flimsy mannequin with the face of a much younger, slimmer Trump, wearing a red “Trump 2028” hat, a dark suit, and a signature red tie.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

Cipriano, 35, a man of starched white shirts, neatly-parted hair and wire-rimmed glasses, resembles a Brooks Brothers mannequin.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026

The image of the red Tesla occupied by a mannequin dubbed Starman -- after David Bowie -- was seen around the world.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

The mannequin wearing a baseball cap in Glendora and one with a drawn-on mustache in the Bay Area.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026

Yet still she lay, still she lay, a mannequin of herself, amid tubes and machines.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

The only jerseys in the store for Haaland and France’s Kylian Mbappé were worn by mannequins.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

At Galeries Lafayette on Tuesday, as employees packed away denuded mannequins, admissions officer Li said she thought the store had been too reliant on "the traditional... business model that has existed for decades in France".

From Barron's ● May 27, 2026

California highway patrol is getting wise to jackets and mannequins by carpool lane cheaters.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 19, 2026

"People aren't mannequins, they're unique, and so are their fit preferences," says Paul Alger, Director of International Business at the UK Fashion and Textile Association.

From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2025

The entire class is as still as a mass of mannequins after the mall closes.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

Related Words

• dummy