Barbie

//bɑː(ɹ)bi// name, noun, slang

name, noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A barbecue (apparatus for grilling). Australia, New-Zealand, UK, informal
  2. 2
    A barbiturate. informal

    "“At nights,” she says, “we were both in our own little worlds, him with his alcohol and me with my barbies.”"

  3. 3
    A tall, slender female fashion doll.

    "They discourage their young children from engaging in rough-and-tumble play. One mother said, “I like Hai-Mei quiet. I like her playing Barbies, writing, and singing.”"

  4. 4
    A barbecue (event: cookout). Australia, New-Zealand, UK, informal
  5. 5
    A beautiful but stupid or shallow young woman. broadly, derogatory, informal
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A diminutive of the female given name Barbara.

Synonyms

All synonyms
barbecuebarbituratedollyken doll

Example

More examples

"Barbie has blond hair and blue eyes."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Clipping of barbecue + -ie (diminutive suffix).

Etymology 2

Clipping of barbiturate + -ie (diminutive suffix).

Etymology 3

From Barbara + -ie.

Etymology 4

Named for Barbara Handler-Segal, daughter of Mattel co-founder Elliot Handler, in 1959.

Related phrases

Barbie pagodaBarbie pinkBarbie shipperICE Barbiefashion doll

More for "barbie"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.