What does "doll" mean?
A small figure resembling a human being that is used as a toy.
Doll
/dɒl/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A small figure resembling a human being that is used as a toy.
- Grammar: doll is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: adorn, agate, angel, babe.
- Useful contrasts: destroy, discard, living being.
- Usage evidence: Show me the doll that you bought yesterday.
How to use "doll"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "doll" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "doll" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "doll" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "doll" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "doll" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "adorn" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "doll", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A small figure resembling a human being that is used as a toy.
- 2 A temporary barrier used in horse racing.
"On a beautiful spring morning, after the “dolls and chains” had been removed to allow the horses room to pass through, in galloping “across the flat,” […]"
- 3 Synonym of dollar. US, obsolete
- 4 Obsolete form of dal. alt-of, obsolete, uncountable
- 5 a small replica of a person; used as a toy wordnet
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 An attractive young woman. slang
"Some fine day we may have the country raised, and the gendarmes down upon us from Strasburg, and all owing to your pretty doll, with her cunning ways of coming over you."
- 7 informal terms for a (young) woman wordnet
- 8 An attractive young woman.; A transgender woman or transfeminine person, especially one that has a highly sexual and feminine personal style. slang
- 9 An attractive young woman.; A transgender woman or transfeminine person, in general. slang
- 10 A term of endearment Australia, Scotland, US, dated
"Heading home from a party, two hipsters, completely stoned, pause to snuggle on a park bench. A fire engine roars by, bells clanging, sirens screaming. The boy flips. “Solid, doll,” he murmurs, “they’re playing our song!”"
- 11 A good-natured, cooperative or helpful person. US
"Won't you be a doll and fetch me a glass of water?"
- 12 The smallest or pet pig in a litter.
- 13 A short signal post mounted on a bracket mounted on the main signal post, or on a signal gantry.
"The signals are on a three-doll bracket post; one doll carries two [signal] arms, one above the other."
- 14 A barbiturate or amphetamine pill. slang
"Each night she looked at the bottle of Seconals with affection. She never could do this without the dolls. She would have spent sleepless nights, smoking, worrying—and she would have lost her nerve."
Verb
- 1 Synonym of doll up.
- 2 To place a barrier in front of (a section of the course that is to be omitted from a horse race). UK, transitive
- 3 To warm moderately; to make tepid; to mull. obsolete, transitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A township and rural village in Sutherland, Highland council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NC8803).
- 2 A diminutive of the female given name Dorothy.
"O! run, Doll, run; run, good Doll."
- 3 A surname.
Example
"Show me the doll that you bought yesterday."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "doll"?
Common synonyms include: adorn, agate, angel, babe, baby, baby-doll.
How do you use "doll" in a sentence?
Show me the doll that you bought yesterday.
How do you pronounce "doll"?
Pronounced /dɒl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Doll, pet form of the given name Dorothy. Etymology 1 sense 7 was coined and popularized by American writer Jacqueline Susann in 1966 through her book Valley of the Dolls (1966) and the film adaptation Valley of the Dolls (1967).
Etymology 2
Probably variant of archaic dool (“boundary marker”).
Etymology 3
Clipping of dollar.
Etymology 4
Possibly same as dull (whence Middle English doll).
Etymology 5
* As a south German surname, from toll (“mad, foolish”). * Also as a German surname, spelling variant of Thiel. * As an English surname, from the adjective dull, cognate with the first German derivation. Also compare Dill.