Dummy
['dʌmɪ] or ['dʌmi]
Definition
(noun.) a figure representing the human form.
(noun.) a person who does not talk.
(verb.) make a dummy of; 'dummy up the books that are to be published'.
(adj.) having the appearance of being real but lacking capacity to function; 'a dummy corporation' .
Editor: Roxanne--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Silent; mute; noiseless; as a dummy engine.
(a.) Fictitious or sham; feigned; as, a dummy watch.
(n.) One who is dumb.
(n.) A sham package in a shop, or one which does not contain what its exterior indicates.
(n.) An imitation or copy of something, to be used as a substitute; a model; a lay figure; as, a figure on which clothing is exhibited in shop windows; a blank paper copy used to show the size of the future book, etc.
(n.) One who plays a merely nominal part in any action; a sham character.
(n.) A thick-witted person; a dolt.
(n.) A locomotive with condensing engines, and, hence, without the noise of escaping steam; also, a dummy car.
(n.) The fourth or exposed hand when three persons play at a four-handed game of cards.
(n.) A floating barge connected with a pier.
Checked by Harlan
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Mute, dumb person.[2]. [Colloquial.] Dumb-waiter.[3]. Fourth hand (when only three persons play at whist).
Checked by Desmond
Examples
- After a while we took it as a matter of course that the head of a company was an administrative dummy, with a dependence on unofficial power similar to that of Governor Dix on Boss Murphy. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Why, it's a dummy, said he. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- They seem to have been of a most interesting character--dummy bell-ropes, and ventilators which do not ventilate. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- The stock itself--' Dummies, my dear boy,' said Bob Sawyer; 'half the drawers have nothing in 'em, and the other half don't open. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
Checked by Dora