pacifier
Americannoun
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a person or thing that pacifies.
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a rubber or plastic device, often shaped into a nipple, for a baby to suck or bite on.
noun
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a person or thing that pacifies
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a baby's dummy or teething ring
Etymology
Origin of pacifier
Explanation
A pacifier is a soothing device for babies that's made of rubber, silicone, or plastic. If you can picture the cartoon character Maggie Simpson, then you can picture a pacifier. Most infants are born with a strong need to suck, and many of them suck their own thumbs or fingers to soothe themselves. A pacifier works the same way. While some parents and even doctors worry that continuing to use pacifiers too long can damage babies' developing teeth and palates, such problems are actually very rare. The original meaning of pacifier is "anything (or anyone) that pacifies," from the Latin pacificare, "make peace; calm."
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.
“Was just reading today that newborns will suck on a pacifier more vigorously if it triggers playback of a recording of her/his mother’s voice than another woman’s voice,” Tramo wrote to Epstein.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2026
The software records data as an infant sucks on the pacifier and compares that data with information from other infants.
From Science Daily • Apr. 29, 2024
About a third of the kiddos in most classes at the two Seattle area high schools where I teach have just checked out and use them as a pacifier.
From Seattle Times • May 12, 2023
She called herself a "human pacifier" and reluctantly started co-sleeping before realizing she needed to make changes before going back to work.
From Salon • May 12, 2023
When a mother—harried, in heels—clip-clopped past her, Madeline Ryan scooped up a pacifier thrown out of the stroller and raced after them to hand it over.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
