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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

dolly.

A doll.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈdɑli/General-American/ˈdɒli/Received-Pronunciation
  1. A doll.

    childish · colloquial
  2. A roughly cylindrical wooden object used as a base when molding pie crust.

  3. A contrivance for stirring: A disc with downward legs and a vertical handle, used for agitating laundry.

  4. A contrivance for stirring: A device turned on a vertical axis by a handle or a winch, giving a circular motion to ore being washed.

  5. A tool with an indented head for shaping the head of a rivet.

  6. In pile driving, a block interposed between the head of the pile and the ram of the driver.

  7. A small truck with a single wide roller used for moving heavy beams, columns, etc., in bridge building.

  8. Synonym of hand truck (an L-shaped box-moving handcart with handles at one end).

    proscribed · sometimes
  9. A moving dolly; a small, flat, rectangular platform on wheels, made to be slipped under a piece of furniture or other load.

  10. An unpowered vehicle (trailer) designed for connection to a tractor unit, truck or prime mover vehicle, with strong traction power.

  11. A compact, narrow-gauge locomotive used for moving construction trains, switching, etc.

  12. A specialized piece of film equipment resembling a little cart on which a camera is mounted.

  13. A young woman, especially one who is frivolous or vapid.

    slang
  14. A fashionable young woman, one who follows the latest music or clothing fashions.

    UK · dated · slang
  15. A ball hit by a batsman such that it goes gently to a fielder for a simple catch.

    dated
  16. A marker placed on the winning number by the dealer at roulette.

  17. Ellipsis of dolly shop.

    abbreviation · alt-of · ellipsis
  18. An old gambling device, found in dolly shops, with the figure of an old man or "dolly", and a spiral hole down which a dropped marble would proceed to one of a set of numbered holes.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

From doll + -y, from the given name Dorothy, originally applied either to a woman or female pet or to a children's toy, and expanded to refer to various types of contrivances or devices. The Online Etymology Dictionary, while considering the reason for applying it to such devices unobvious, compares how the names jack, jenny and jimmy are also applied to devices.

verb/ˈdɑli/General-American/ˈdɒli/Received-Pronunciation
  1. To hit a dolly.

    transitive
  2. To move (an object) using a dolly.

    transitive
  3. To move a camera (usually toward or away from its subject) using a dolly.

    intransitive
  4. To wash (laundry) in a tub using the stirring device called a dolly.

    transitive
  5. To beat (red-hot metal) with a hammer.

    transitive
  6. To crush ore with a dolly.

    transitive
  7. To make somebody or something look attractive.

    often · with-up
Where this word comes from

From doll + -y, from the given name Dorothy, originally applied either to a woman or female pet or to a children's toy, and expanded to refer to various types of contrivances or devices. The Online Etymology Dictionary, while considering the reason for applying it to such devices unobvious, compares how the names jack, jenny and jimmy are also applied to devices.

adj/ˈdɑli/General-American/ˈdɒli/Received-Pronunciation
  1. Pretty; attractive.

    Polari
  2. Left-handed (also dolly-handed, dolly-pawed, dolly-posh).

    Sheffield · Yorkshire · especially
Where this word comes from

Disputed. Most scholars derive the term from doll + -y, as Etymology 1, above. Linguist Ian Hancock, however, suggests derivation from Italian dolce (“sweet”).

noun/ˈdɑli/General-American/ˈdɒli/Received-Pronunciation
  1. An offering of fruit or flowers.

    India
Where this word comes from

From Hindi डाली (ḍālī).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.