1a model or replica of a human being:a waxwork dummy
a figure used for displaying or fitting clothes:a tailor’s dummy
a ventriloquist’s doll.
Bridge the declarer’s partner, whose cards are exposed on the table after the opening lead and played by the declarer.
Bridge the exposed hand of the declarer’s partner.
an imaginary fourth player in whist: [as modifier]:dummy whist
2something designed to resemble and serve as a substitute for the real or usual thing; a counterfeit or sham:tests using stuffed owls and wooden dummies [as modifier]:a dummy torpedodummy invoices and a dummy corporation, designed to underprice products
a prototype or mock-up, especially of a book or the layout of a page.
a blank round of ammunition.
[as modifier] Grammar denoting a word that has no semantic content but is used to maintain grammatical structure:a dummy subject, as in “it is” or “there are.”
3 informal, chiefly North American a stupid person.
verb (dummies, dummying, dummied)
[with object]
create a prototype or mock-up of a book or page:officials dummied up a set of photos
Phrasal Verbs
dummy up
North American informal keep quiet; give no information.
Origin:
late 16th century: from dumb + -y1. The original sense was 'a person who cannot speak', then 'an imaginary fourth player in whist' (mid 18th century), whence 'a substitute for the real thing' and 'a model of a human being' (mid 19th century)
