mannequin

noun

man·​ne·​quin ˈma-ni-kən How to pronounce mannequin (audio)
1
: an artist's, tailor's, or dressmaker's lay figure
also : a form representing the human figure used especially for displaying clothes
2
: one employed to model clothing

Examples of mannequin in a Sentence

the mannequin over there looks so real mannequins striding down the catwalk in the designer's spring collection
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In 1979, a bomb was thrown from a moving car into the London building where the designer had a showroom, which was damaged along with the mannequins in her window display. Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 14 Feb. 2025 At that time, models were little more than glorified mannequins, rarely named or acknowledged. airmail.news, 8 Feb. 2025 In Ciudad Juarez, its factories make a variety of products from mannequins to electrical components. Bryan Mena, CNN, 7 Feb. 2025 Using facial-recognition software, the drone targets a mannequin and then dives toward it, colliding with a sound like a gunshot and leaving a small hole in its forehead. Brendan Fitzgerald, Longreads, 26 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for mannequin

Word History

Etymology

French, from Dutch mannekijn little man — more at manikin

First Known Use

1730, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mannequin was in 1730

Browse Nearby Entries

Cite this Entry

“Mannequin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mannequin. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

mannequin

noun
man·​ne·​quin ˈman-i-kən How to pronounce mannequin (audio)
1
: an artist's, tailor's, or dressmaker's jointed figure of the human body
2
: a form representing the human figure used especially for displaying clothes
3
: a person employed to model clothing

More from Merriam-Webster on mannequin

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!