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

Her other acting work includes the BBC's Bafta-nominated series The Witness for the Prosecution in 2016, the 2022 revival of Queer as Folk, 1987 film Mannequin and the original Police Academy film in 1984.

From BBC • Dec. 5, 2025

Jack’s Mannequin officially broke up in 2012, and McMahon continued to write and release music as Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2025

Mr. Cain has just a few vehicles here and there, and a lone Ford Lightning sitting outside, as part of “the Mannequin Program,” he says, “just to show it off.”

From New York Times • Aug. 13, 2022

Le Mannequin Pis keeps long lunch hours and offers half-price wine Monday through Wednesday.

From Washington Post • Mar. 21, 2022

The Battalion sector was astride the Sequehart-Mericourt Road which ran due East along the valley South of Mannequin Ridge.

From The Fifth Leicestershire A Record Of The 1/5th Battalion The Leicestershire Regiment, T.F., During The War, 1914-1919. by Hills, John David

Related Words

• dummy