Russian doll

noun

plural Russian dolls

: one of a set of hollow typically wooden figurines that are usually painted to depict women in babushkas, that split apart in the middle, and that can be nested inside one another

… those old pear-shaped Russian dolls that open at the middle to reveal another and another …

—Alicia Ostriker

… painted, wooden Russian dolls that decorate the home.

—Teresa Strasser

also : a set of these dolls

Easy to store, the cases nestle inside one another, like a Russian doll …

—Laura McKenna

called also matryoshka doll, nesting doll

Word History

First Known Use

1910, in the meaning defined above