dummy

1 of 3

noun

dum·​my ˈdə-mē 

plural dummies

1

a

dated, offensive : a person who is incapable of speaking

b

: a person who is habitually silent

c

: a stupid person

He's no dummy.

She loves you, you dummy.

2

card games

a

: the exposed hand in bridge played by the declarer in addition to his or her own hand

b

: a bridge player whose hand is a dummy

3

: an imitation, copy, or likeness of something used as a substitute: such as

a

: mannequin

a crash test dummy

b

football : a stuffed figure or cylindrical bag used for tackling (see tackle entry 2 sense 1b) and blocking practice

c

entertainment : a large puppet usually having movable features (such as mouth and arms) manipulated by a ventriloquist

d

chiefly British : pacifier sense 2

4

: one seeming to act independently but in reality controlled by another

a dummy for the real store owner

5

printing

a

: a mock-up of a proposed publication (such as a book or magazine)

b

: a set of pages (as for a newspaper or magazine) with the position of text and artwork indicated for the printer (see printer sense a)

dummy

2 of 3

adjective

1

a

: having the appearance of being real : artificial

dummy foods in the display case

b

: existing in name only : fictitious

dummy corporations

2

: apparently acting for oneself while really acting for or at the direction of another

a dummy director

dummy

3 of 3

verb

dummied; dummying

transitive verb

publishing

: to make a dummy (see dummy entry 1 sense 5) of (something, such as a publication)

—often used with up

dummied up the front page

Synonyms

Noun

• airhead
• birdbrain
• blockhead
• bonehead
• bubblehead
• chowderhead
• chucklehead
• clodpoll
• clodpole
• clot [British]
• cluck
• clunk
• cretin
• cuddy [British dialect]
• cuddie
• deadhead
• dim bulb [slang]
• dimwit
• dip
• dodo
• dolt
• donkey
• doofus [slang]
• dope
• dork [slang]
• dullard
• dum-dum
• dumbbell
• dumbhead
• dummkopf
• dunce
• dunderhead
• fathead
• gander
• golem
• goof
• goon
• half-wit
• hammerhead
• hardhead
• idiot
• ignoramus
• imbecile
• jackass
• know-nothing
• knucklehead
• lamebrain
• loggerhead [chiefly dialect]
• loon
• lump
• lunkhead
• meathead
• mome [archaic]
• moron
• mug [chiefly British]
• mutt
• natural
• nimrod [slang]
• nincompoop
• ninny
• ninnyhammer
• nit [chiefly British]
• nitwit
• noddy
• noodle
• numskull
• numbskull
• oaf
• pinhead
• prat [British]
• ratbag [chiefly Australian]
• saphead
• schlub [slang]
• shlub
• schnook [slang]
• simpleton
• stock
• stupe
• stupid
• thickhead
• turkey
• woodenhead
• yahoo
• yo-yo

Adjective

• artificial
• bogus
• ersatz
• factitious
• fake
• false
• faux
• imitation
• imitative
• man-made
• mimic
• mock
• pretend
• sham
• simulated
• substitute
• synthetic

Examples of dummy in a Sentence

Noun

She loves you, you dummy.

They practiced CPR on a dummy.

The bomb was just a dummy.

Adjective

They took apart a dummy bomb.

the dummy shutters on the house are actually made of vinyl and are for decoration only

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Each year, fire safety officials warn of the dangers of fireworks and stage demonstrations of dummies that catch fire and watermelons that explode. —Linda Trischitta, Sun-Sentinel.com, 10 July 2017

Zuby said the Tesla Model S didn’t have a strong enough safety belt, and a dummy used to simulate a driver in the small overlap test moved too far forward during the crash, striking its head on the steering wheel. —Diana Kruzman, USA TODAY, 6 July 2017

Adjective

If West leads a trump, South wins in dummy and ruffs a heart. —Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 10 Sep. 2024

The mission relied on false information passed by double agents, fake wireless traffic and dummy units. —Robert Hutton, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Sep. 2024

Verb

In a penny game at my club, South led a diamond to dummy and returned a trump — and his roof caved in when East discarded. —Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 16 Aug. 2024

South should take the ace of hearts, cash the ace of clubs, lead a trump to dummy and try a club to his ten. —Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 10 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun, Adjective, and Verb

dumb entry 1 + -y entry 4

First Known Use

Noun

1588, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1912, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing dummy

• crash test dummy
• dummy pill
• dummy run
• dummy up
• dummy variable

Kids Definition

dummy

1 of 2 noun

dum·​my ˈdəm-ē 

plural dummies

1

: a person who lacks or seems to lack the power of speech

2

: a stupid person

3

: an imitation used as a substitute for something: as

a

: mannequin sense 2

b

: a large puppet usually having movable features (as mouth and arms) controlled by a ventriloquist

4

a

: the bridge hand of the partner of the player who wins the bid that is placed face up and played by the bid winner

b

: a bridge player whose hand is a dummy

dummy

2 of 2 adjective

1

: having the appearance of being real but lacking ability to function

dummy hinges for ornament

2

: existing in name only : fictitious

a dummy corporation

Medical Definition

dummy

1 of 2 noun

dum·​my ˈdəm-ē 

plural dummies

1

: a horse lacking the ability to respond to ordinary stimuli because of cerebral damage especially following encephalomyelitis

2

: pontic

3

: placebo

dummy

2 of 2 adjective

: being a placebo

those who unknowingly receive a dummy pill instead of the real thing

—Nicholas Wade