puppeteer
Americannoun
-
puppeteers
plural
verb (used without object)
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of puppeteer
Explanation
A puppeteer is a person who works a puppet, making it move and appear to talk. A puppeteer might do this by putting her hand inside the puppet and moving its arms and head. Puppets come in many different shapes, sizes, and styles, and they all need at least one puppeteer to operate them. Marionettes are puppets with strings, attached to parts of their bodies, that are worked from overhead by puppeteers. Hand puppets are manipulated from below, and some giant puppets require several puppeteers to move their limbs and heads. The Middle English root word is popet, "doll," from the Latin word pupa, "doll or girl."
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:
The marmalade-loving bear is portrayed by a puppet controlled by a two-person team: James Hameed, the remote puppeteer, who controls the expressions and delivers the voice, and Arti Shah, who embodies Paddington on stage.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
The device, which can feel like being under the control of a puppeteer, requires manual downhill mode activation and poses risks if handled improperly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
The first time I wore them, the contraption felt like a puppeteer controlling my legs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
TV producer Sid Krofft, the puppeteer and co-mastermind behind fantastical 1970s Saturday morning television shows like “H.R. Pufnstuf” and “Land of the Lost,” has died.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026
In the realm of the real, she might have been just a girl, in hiding and in peril, but in the unconscious mind she was all-powerful: sorceress and storyteller, puppeteer and dark enthraller.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Magicians, jugglers, puppeteers and acrobats once made a living from crowds in public spaces.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
For many of his scenes, two puppeteers manipulated rods controlling his body.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Close-quarters scenes of Grogu tending to a wounded Mando demanded a surgical level of control from Scott and his fellow puppeteers to pull out the emotions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
No one knows better what the Muppets can or can’t do than their puppeteers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026
It was like two invisible puppeteers, standing stage left and stage right, were yanking on strings to lift up the corners of her mouth.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
