dummy

Everyday

1. A dummy is a model of a person, used in shops to show clothes or in tests, like a crash-test dummy. tree →
2. In the UK, Australia and Ireland a dummy is a rubber teat a baby sucks to calm down; Americans call it a pacifier. tree →
3. Dummy describes something that looks real but is not, such as a dummy camera. tree →
4. In some sports a dummy is a pretend move to trick another player. tree →
5. A dummy is also a rude word for a silly person. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life children see shop dummies and babies with dummies; in science and safety, crash-test dummies show how seatbelts protect people. In stories a dummy may be used to fool a guard. Phrases: «a crash-test dummy», «a shop dummy», «sell someone a dummy» (trick them in sport), «a dummy run» (a practice).

Examples

• The baby fell asleep with her dummy. tree →
• The shop dummy wore a red winter coat. tree →
• Crash-test dummies show why we must wear seatbelts. tree →
• The burglar fooled the guard with a dummy in the bed. tree →
• The camera on the wall is just a dummy. tree →
• He sold the defender a dummy and scored. tree →
• We did a dummy run of the fire drill first. tree →

Note

Plural: dummies (y changes to ies). Pacifier (US) and dummy (UK, Australia, Ireland) mean the same thing for babies. Calling a person a dummy is rude.