Pinocchio

American

[pi-noh-kee-oh] / pɪˈnoʊ kiˌoʊ /

noun

the hero of Carlo Collodi's children's story, The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883), a wooden puppet who comes to life as a boy and whose nose grows longer whenever he tells a lie.

Etymology

Origin of Pinocchio

< Italian: literally, pine seed, pine cone, equivalent to pin ( o ) pine ¹ + -occhio < Vulgar Latin *-uc ( u ) lu ( m ), Latin -i-culum; see -i-, -cule ¹

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.

Among them is the so called Pinocchio chameleon, a reptile described for nearly 150 years.

From Science Daily • Dec. 13, 2025

It features scenes of the rapper running from a pursuer in a Pinocchio mask - a symbol fans interpreted as "lies" following Drake around.

From BBC • Jul. 25, 2025

Back in 2023, Pinocchio from Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-winning film led the walkaround.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2025

The lavish folk tale draws from the song "When You Wish Upon a Star" from the 1940 cartoon film "Pinocchio," about a puppet wishing to become a real boy.

From Reuters • Nov. 20, 2023

I felt like Pinocchio, knowing I was going to meet Liz at the rock crusher on Tuesday.

From "The Lions of Little Rock" by Kristin Levine

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023