dummy
/ˈdʌmi/noun, verb, adverb
dummy is spelled D-U-M-M-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.4 times per million words in written English, the 12,216th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, dummy means “A silent person; a person who does not talk” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of dummy is dummies.
How many letters and syllables are in dummy?
| Letters | 5: D-U-M-M-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.4 times per million words; the 12,216th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is dummy?
Dummy appears 4.4 times per million words in written English, the 12,216th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dummy?
- /ˈdʌmi/
Dummy has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: EN-AU_ck1_dummy.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-dummy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of dummy
- dummies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- dumbie rare
- dumby rare
- dummie rare
- dummying participle, present
- dummied participle, past
- more dummy comparative
- most dummy superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dummy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
datedA silent person; a person who does not talk.
- 2
A stupid person.
Don't be such a dummy!
- 3
slangA term of address.
Hey dummy, what's good wit chu?
- 4
A figure of a person or animal used by a ventriloquist; a puppet.
- 5
Something constructed with the size and form of a human, to be used in place of a person.
To understand the effects of the accident, we dropped a dummy from the rooftop.
- 6
A person who is the mere tool of another; a man of straw.
- 7
A deliberately nonfunctional device or tool used in place of a functional one.
The hammer and drill in the display are dummies.
- 8
AustraliaIrelandUKA pacifier; a plastic or rubber teat used to soothe or comfort a baby.
The baby wants her dummy.
verb
- 1
To make a mock-up or prototype version of something, without all of the intended functionality.
The carpenters dummied some props for the rehearsals.
- 2
To feint.
adverb
- 1
USslangExtremely.
It's dummy hot outside.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dummy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | muet , idiot, idiote, imbécile , mannequin , mort |
| Spanish | silencioso, silente , tonto, estúpido, idiota , maniquí |
| Portuguese | idiota, imbecil , manequim , simulacro |
| German | lebensgroße Puppe, Dummy , Attrappe , Puppe |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dummy come from?
From dumb + -y. Pacifier sense from dummy teat where dummy is in the sense of a nonfunctional replica.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).