dummy
1 of 3noun
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 3adjective
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 3verb
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
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
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
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 At NASA Langley's Landing and Impact Research Facility, ten crash test dummies were buckled into a section of airplane fuselage and dropped from the sky. Chris Clarke, Popular Mechanics, 6 July 2017 Nursing students practice clinical procedures using virtual reality and full-size dummies, including a birthing simulator named Lucina. Jennifer Lu, miamiherald, 12 June 2017 The American Heart Association employs a bunch of dummies. Jessica Roy, The Cut, 23 June 2017 While the group did 100 to 120 chest compressions a minute on CPR dummies, or 30 compressions and two breaths, Metro took photos with her phone and streamed the scene on Facebook Live. Victoria St. Martin, Washington Post, 5 July 2017 TV show host Ellen DeGeneres presented her a ventriloquist dummy named Stacy as a gift. David Frese, kansascity.com, 30 June 2017 Baig is the co-author of iPhone For Dummies, an independent work published by Wiley. Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY, 23 June 2017 Carla K. Johnson, Anchorage Daily News, 25 Aug. 2022 That's a big departure, Zatko claims, from the standard at companies like Google and Meta, where developers are required to use dummy data to perform coding and testing in specialized sandboxes that don't touch the main products consumers use. Brian Fung, CNN, 24 Aug. 2022 Charm City Cakes confirms that all four layers were real cake — unlike some wedding cakes, which consist of dummy layers. Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 23 Aug. 2022 Her job was to look at the ammunition and put in the dummy round or the blank round, and there wasn’t supposed to be any live rounds on the set. Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 19 Aug. 2022 In a lawsuit, Gutierrez Reed has pointed the finger at Seth Kenney, the supplier who provided dummy rounds used on set. Gene Maddaus, Variety, 18 Aug. 2022 Posiva is currently conducting a long-term, full-sized demonstration using heaters in dummy canisters surrounded by bentonite and temperature probes. Howard Lee, Ars Technica, 17 Aug. 2022 The video above shows the new design, comparing an iPhone 14 Pro Max dummy unit against the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Chris Smith, BGR, 8 Aug. 2022 The Oak Creek Fire Department has a new member named HOSE-A. Made out of old rubber fire hose, HOSE-A, named in part by the community, is a training dummy firefighters can use during drills for various scenarios. Erik S. Hanley, Journal Sentinel, 4 Aug. 2022 John Hudson, Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2022 Pro Max dummy hands-on video teasing the significant camera upgrades coming to this year’s Pro models. Chris Smith, BGR, 8 Aug. 2022 Earlier this year, the company successfully tested the methodology with a stage 1 mass simulator, or dummy booster. Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 27 Apr. 2022 Gutierrez-Reed, 24, claims Seth Kenney's company PDQ Arm and Prop, LLC supplied a mix of live and dummy ammunition prior to the fatal shooting that took the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE. Alexia Fernández, PEOPLE.com, 12 Jan. 2022 Baldwin said accidental discharges of blanks or dummy rounds on film and television sets are common. Lucien Bruggeman, ABC News, 2 Dec. 2021 The tragedy triggered an industry call for tighter safety standards on-set, including eliminating the use of real guns and dummy rounds of any kind. Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 19 Nov. 2021 The study involved 4,753 children ages 6 to 11 who got either the vaccine or dummy shots. Lauran Neergaard, Anchorage Daily News, 25 Oct. 2021 Mike Tristano, a veteran armorer, or movie weapons specialist, was alarmed to hear that live rounds were mixed in with blanks and dummy rounds. Anchorage Daily News, 27 Oct. 2021 See More
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 At NASA Langley's Landing and Impact Research Facility, ten crash test dummies were buckled into a section of airplane fuselage and dropped from the sky. Chris Clarke, Popular Mechanics, 6 July 2017 Nursing students practice clinical procedures using virtual reality and full-size dummies, including a birthing simulator named Lucina. Jennifer Lu, miamiherald, 12 June 2017 The American Heart Association employs a bunch of dummies. Jessica Roy, The Cut, 23 June 2017 While the group did 100 to 120 chest compressions a minute on CPR dummies, or 30 compressions and two breaths, Metro took photos with her phone and streamed the scene on Facebook Live. Victoria St. Martin, Washington Post, 5 July 2017 TV show host Ellen DeGeneres presented her a ventriloquist dummy named Stacy as a gift. David Frese, kansascity.com, 30 June 2017 Baig is the co-author of iPhone For Dummies, an independent work published by Wiley. Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY, 23 June 2017 Adjective
Patients receiving psilocybin had more headaches, nausea and anxiety than those getting the dummy drug. Carla K. Johnson, Anchorage Daily News, 25 Aug. 2022 That's a big departure, Zatko claims, from the standard at companies like Google and Meta, where developers are required to use dummy data to perform coding and testing in specialized sandboxes that don't touch the main products consumers use. Brian Fung, CNN, 24 Aug. 2022 Charm City Cakes confirms that all four layers were real cake — unlike some wedding cakes, which consist of dummy layers. Antonia Debianchi, Peoplemag, 23 Aug. 2022 Her job was to look at the ammunition and put in the dummy round or the blank round, and there wasn’t supposed to be any live rounds on the set. Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 19 Aug. 2022 In a lawsuit, Gutierrez Reed has pointed the finger at Seth Kenney, the supplier who provided dummy rounds used on set. Gene Maddaus, Variety, 18 Aug. 2022 Posiva is currently conducting a long-term, full-sized demonstration using heaters in dummy canisters surrounded by bentonite and temperature probes. Howard Lee, Ars Technica, 17 Aug. 2022 The video above shows the new design, comparing an iPhone 14 Pro Max dummy unit against the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Chris Smith, BGR, 8 Aug. 2022 The Oak Creek Fire Department has a new member named HOSE-A. Made out of old rubber fire hose, HOSE-A, named in part by the community, is a training dummy firefighters can use during drills for various scenarios. Erik S. Hanley, Journal Sentinel, 4 Aug. 2022 Verb
Slobodan Milosevic’s Yugoslav forces used mock tanks and dummy targets against NATO forces during the Kosovo conflict. John Hudson, Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2022 Pro Max dummy hands-on video teasing the significant camera upgrades coming to this year’s Pro models. Chris Smith, BGR, 8 Aug. 2022 Earlier this year, the company successfully tested the methodology with a stage 1 mass simulator, or dummy booster. Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 27 Apr. 2022 Gutierrez-Reed, 24, claims Seth Kenney's company PDQ Arm and Prop, LLC supplied a mix of live and dummy ammunition prior to the fatal shooting that took the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE. Alexia Fernández, PEOPLE.com, 12 Jan. 2022 Baldwin said accidental discharges of blanks or dummy rounds on film and television sets are common. Lucien Bruggeman, ABC News, 2 Dec. 2021 The tragedy triggered an industry call for tighter safety standards on-set, including eliminating the use of real guns and dummy rounds of any kind. Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 19 Nov. 2021 The study involved 4,753 children ages 6 to 11 who got either the vaccine or dummy shots. Lauran Neergaard, Anchorage Daily News, 25 Oct. 2021 Mike Tristano, a veteran armorer, or movie weapons specialist, was alarmed to hear that live rounds were mixed in with blanks and dummy rounds. Anchorage Daily News, 27 Oct. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun, Adjective, and Verb
dumb entry 1 + -y entry 4
First Known Use
Noun
1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Adjective
1846, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Verb
circa 1928, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing dummy
Kids Definition
dummy
noun
dum·my ˈdə-mē
plural dummies
1
: something shaped like a human
a clothes store dummy
2
: a doll used in a ventriloquist's act
3
: a stupid person
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 2adjective
: being a placebo
those who unknowingly receive a dummy pill instead of the real thing Nicholas Wade
Nicholas Wadedummies
noun
1
as in idiots
a stupid person it's obvious that she's in love with you, you dummy Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- idiots
- morons
- stupids
- fools
- losers
- geese
- lunatics
- dopes
- dolts
- imbeciles
- prats
- dunces
- numskulls
- blockheads
- dimwits
- pinheads
- donkeys
- knuckleheads
- ignoramuses
- boneheads
- naturals
- mutts
- airheads
- ninnies
- clowns
- goons
- nincompoops
- jackasses
- dullards
- dunderheads
- cretins
- turkeys
- stupes
- ganders
- yahoos
- nimrods
- goofs
- bubbleheads
- simpletons
- meatheads
- nitwits
- oafs
- dorks
- golems
- hammerheads
- lunkheads
- hardheads
- schlubs
- noddies
- jerks
- deadheads
- fatheads
- stocks
- dips
- chuckleheads
- sapheads
- schnooks
- dumbbells
- numbskulls
- doofuses
- birdbrains
- nuts
- dumbheads
- lumps
- dum-dums
- loons
- momes
- cuddies
- thickheads
- chowderheads
- noodles
- dufuses
- clodpoles
- dumb clucks
- know-nothings
- ignorami
- shlubs
- dim bulbs
- buffoons
- clucks
- dummkopfs
- clodpolls
- half-wits
- ratbags
- villains
- dodos
- clunks
- woodenheads
- madmen
- snakes
- ninnyhammers
- loggerheads
- nits
- yo-yos
- lamebrains
- dodoes
- skunks
- loonies
- boobies
- clots
- skunk
- zanies
- mugs
- beasts
- gawks
- creeps
- cads
- scatterbrains
- stinkers
- boors
- curs
- churls
- heels
- featherbrains
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- brains
- geniuses
- wizards
- genii
- intellectuals
- thinkers
- intellects
- sages
- whizzes
- polymaths
- sharpies
- Renaissance men
2
as in mannequins
a three-dimensional representation of the human body used especially for displaying clothes the dummies were arranged in the store window as if they were acting out scenes Synonyms & Similar Words
- mannequins
- dolls
- figures
- manikins
- mannikins
- forms
3
as in copies
something that is made to look exactly like something else for the movie, the props department made a dummy of the lunar module actually used in the mission Synonyms & Similar Words
- copies
- replicas
- reproductions
- versions
- imitations
- clones
- dupes
- mocks
- duplicates
- simulations
- replications
- facsimiles
- reduplications
- carbon copies
- phoneys
- phonies
- duplications
- carbons
- reconstructions
- fakes
- miniatures
- knockoffs
- shadows
- rubber stamps
- prints
- mock-ups
- forgeries
- counterfeits
- shams
- approximations
- semblances
- images
- reincarnations
- rip-offs
- spares
- impressions
- likenesses
- imprints
- extras
- re-creations
- reserves
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- prototypes
- originals
- archetypes