doll

noun

ˈdäl 

ˈdȯl

1

: a small-scale figure of a human being used especially as a child's plaything

2

a(1)

: a pretty but often empty-headed young woman

(2)

: woman

b

: darling, sweetheart

c

: an attractive person

dollish

ˈdä-lish 

ˈdȯ-

adjective

dollishly adverb

dollishness noun

Synonyms

• dolly
• puppet

Examples of doll in a Sentence

My aunt collects porcelain dolls.

there was a row of dolls along the shelf in the bedroom

Recent Examples on the Web

Gaga ended the performance like an exhausted wind-up doll, caged again physically, but never spiritually. —Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025

Hundreds of others had everything from tacos, micheladas and fresh fruit for sale to the trendy Labubu dolls. —Evan Webeck, Mercury News, 7 Sep. 2025

Speaking of spooky objects, would Wilson invite Annabelle the doll from The Conjuring movies – not the real one – for an overnight stay? —Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025

Rivera was a paranormal investigator and handler of the real-life Annabelle doll. —Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

probably from Doll, nickname for Dorothy

First Known Use

circa 1700, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing doll

• Barbie doll
• bobblehead doll
• doll's house
• doll up
• rag doll

Rhymes for doll

• ahl
• all
• aul
• bawl
• brawl
• call
• caul
• crawl
• dol
• drawl
• fall
• gall

Kids Definition

doll

noun

ˈdäl 

ˈdȯl

1

: a small figure of a human being used especially as a child's plaything

2

a

: a pretty young woman

b

: an attractive person