mannequin

noun

man·​ne·​quin ˈma-ni-kən 

1

: an artist's, tailor's, or dressmaker's lay figure

also : a form representing the human figure used especially for displaying clothes

2

: one employed to model clothing

Synonyms

• doll
• dummy
• manikin

Examples of mannequin in a Sentence

the mannequin over there looks so real

mannequins striding down the catwalk in the designer's spring collection

Recent Examples on the Web

There are mannequins with giant tennis balls for heads in Mary’s Living & Giving charity shop; Italian food shop Vallebona has pillars made out of tennis balls topped by cheese wheels. —Caoimhe O'Neill, New York Times, 10 July 2025

Resting in the corner of her apartment across from her full-length mirror, Bellew's mannequin is the upper half and waist of a woman's body. —Katie Hill, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 July 2025

The company was able to compete by placing a mannequin inside their exoskeleton and still won first place in two disciplines at Humanoids 24. —Borislav "bobby" Marinov, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025

Meanwhile, objects ranging from hat forms to old mannequins were stored in a facility in a suburb of Paris. —Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 22 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, from Dutch mannekijn little man — more at manikin

First Known Use

1730, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for mannequin

• manikin

Kids Definition

mannequin

noun

man·​ne·​quin ˈman-i-kən 

1

: an artist's, tailor's, or dressmaker's jointed figure of the human body

2

: a form representing the human figure used especially for displaying clothes

3

: a person employed to model clothing