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dummy

dummy

73 4.5
A life-size model of a person used to show clothes, practice medical care, or test crashes
  • noun
  • /ˈdʌmi/
translation icon : maniquí
  • Researchers hope to replace crash test dummies with models of the human body.
  • a crash test dummy
  • a test dummy
  • 100-kg dummy

Oh, that hurt me more than it hurt the dummy.

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Examples

  • Barbara shrugs, slips the dress off the dummy, and Annie steps into it.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Her attention was given instead to a dressmaker's dummy, the kind with adjustable waist, hips, and breasts.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Can you make me a dummy admin code, please?

  • We also use them as tackling dummies.

  • I pinned the head on and put the dummy on the inside of the windowsill.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • They supply dressmaker dummies built off scans of your own body.

  • Once fully attired, the modified LifeTec rescue training dummy weighed 55 kg in total.

    Academic text (2017)
  • The actors used a dummy in the rehearsal to practice their lines without a real person.

  • Crash test dummies are essential for safely testing the impact resistance of vehicles.

  • During the medical training, students practiced their skills on a dummy designed to simulate a real patient.

Synonyms

form
vsdummy
12 6.8

A life-size model of a human used to show clothes

is used for many purposes beyond clothing such as medical training and crash testing
1 8.6

A puppet moved by a person to make it look like it talks

is used for practical tasks like clothing display, medical practice, or crash testing

Idioms

Have a childish angry outburst when you do not get your way

Compounds

A puppet moved by a person to make it look like it talks

1 5.5

A practice test to find and fix problems before the real event

dummy whist
  • Archaic
9.8

A card game for three players where one hand lies face up

dummy-proof
  • Informal
6.5

Easy to use so people with no skill cannot make mistakes

1.0

A rubber or plastic thing a baby sucks to feel calm

How Realistic

mannequin
33 4.6
dummy
73 4.5

Surface Forms

dummy singular
dummies plural

Etymology

Dummy comes from dumb 'silent' plus -y, because long ago a human-shaped figure did not need to speak. So a dummy is a silent stand-in used to show clothes or to train people.