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Glite Dictionary
😊 Short and plump 😊 A plump person 🍰 A British dessert 🪀 A round toy
roly-poly

roly-poly

7.0
A toy with a rounded base that returns upright when pushed
  • noun
  • /ˈroʊliˌpoʊli/
translation icon : muñeco autoenderezable
  • The child giggled as he watched the roly-poly toy wobble back to an upright position after being pushed.

Examples

  • She bought a colorful roly-poly toy that always stood back up after being nudged, making it a favorite among the toddlers.

  • During the birthday party, the kids took turns pushing the roly-poly toy across the floor, delighted by its playful movements.

  • Her awesome body was balanced on spindly ankles, like my father's, and tiny size 4 feet, so that it was a constant wonder to me how she didn't just topple over and roll away, like baby Gennaro's roly-poly clown.

    Fiction book (1999)

Synonyms

Weeble
vsroly-poly
2 7.9

A brand of small toys with round bottoms that wobble and return upright

rolls or tumbles on a rounded base and rights itself when pushed

Surface Forms

roly-poly singular
roly-polies plural

Etymology

Roly-poly for the toy comes from the word roll and a playful rhyme like polly, since the toy rolls and then rights itself, so the name describes its tumbling and popping-back-up movement.