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dummy

n. · v. · adv.
US //ˈdəmi// UK //dˈʌmi// dum·my
  1. 1 a model of a person (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    a model that looks like a person, used for displaying clothes or in safety tests.

    a physical representation of a human being, often used for garment display or as a proxy in crash testing.

    Example

    The shop window had a dummy wearing a bright red winter coat.

    Example

    Engineers placed a crash-test dummy in the driver's seat to measure the impact of the collision on a human frame.
  2. 2 a stupid person (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    an insulting word for someone you think is stupid.

    a pejorative term for a person perceived as unintelligent or slow-witted.

    Example

    I felt like such a dummy when I realized I had my shirt on backwards.

    Example

    He was tired of being treated like a dummy by his colleagues just because he lacked a formal degree.
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  1. 3 a baby's pacifier (n.)
    B1 Intermediate British English

    a rubber or plastic object that a baby sucks on to stay calm.

    a rubber or silicone teat given to an infant to soothe them through the sucking reflex.

    Example

    The baby stopped crying as soon as his mother gave him his dummy.

    Example

    Pediatricians often debate the long-term effects of prolonged dummy use on a child's dental development.
    • pacifier
    • soother
  2. 4 a fake move in sports (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Sport

    a move where you pretend to pass or kick the ball to trick the other team.

    a deceptive move or feint intended to mislead an opponent regarding one's next action.

    Example

    The striker sold the defender a dummy and ran straight toward the goal.

    Example

    By selling the goalkeeper a dummy, the forward created enough space to slot the ball into the bottom corner.
  3. 5 a placeholder (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Computing

    a fake object or word used temporarily until the real one is ready.

    a non-functional or placeholder element used in place of a functional one for testing or structural purposes.

    Example

    The designer used dummy text to see how the layout would look.

    Example

    The programmer inserted a dummy variable to ensure the function would compile while the database was still offline.

    Usage

    Often used as an attributive noun, as in 'dummy variable' or 'dummy text'.
  4. 6 grammar placeholder (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Academic Technical Linguistics

    a word like 'it' or 'there' that fills a space in a sentence but has no real meaning.

    an expletive or pleonastic word that serves a purely structural role in a sentence without carrying semantic content.

    Example

    In the sentence 'It is raining', the word 'it' is a dummy subject.

    Example

    The use of a dummy auxiliary, such as 'do' in English questions, is a distinctive feature of the language's syntax.
  5. 7 to create a prototype (v.)
    C1 Advanced Technical

    to make a simple, fake version of something to show how it will work.

    to create a mock-up or non-functional prototype of a product or document.

    Example

    We need to dummy up the book cover before we send it to the printer.

    Example

    The architects dummied up a cardboard model to demonstrate the scale of the atrium to the investors.
  6. 8 extremely (adv.)
    C1 Advanced American English Slang

    a slang word used to mean 'very' or 'extremely'.

    an intensifier used to emphasize the degree of an adjective.

    Example

    That new video game is dummy hard to beat.

    Example

    The concert was dummy loud, and my ears were ringing for hours afterward.
Origin

From dumb + -y. Pacifier sense from dummy teat where dummy is in the sense of a nonfunctional replica.

Idioms3 entries

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