dolly

Meaning

Noun

1. (childish, colloquial) A doll.
2. A roughly cylindrical wooden object used as a base when molding pie crust.
3. A contrivance for stirring:
4. A contrivance for stirring:
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. A small truck without means of steering, to be slipped under a load.
9. An unpowered vehicle (trailer) designed for connection to a tractor unit, truck or prime mover vehicle, with strong traction power.
10. A compact, narrow-gauge locomotive used for moving construction trains, switching, etc.
11. A specialized piece of film equipment resembling a little cart on which a camera is mounted.
12. (slang) A young woman, especially one who is frivolous or vapid.
13. (UK, dated, slang) A fashionable young woman, one who follows the latest music or clothing fashions.
14. (dated) A ball hit by a batsman such that it goes gently to a fielder for a simple catch.
15. A marker placed on the winning number by the dealer at roulette.
16. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis) Ellipsis of dolly shop.
17. (obsolete) 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.

Verb

1. (transitive) To hit a dolly.
2. (transitive) To move (an object) using a dolly.
3. (intransitive) To move a camera (usually toward or away from its subject) using a dolly.
4. (transitive) To wash (laundry) in a tub using the stirring device called a dolly.
5. (transitive) To beat (red-hot metal) with a hammer.
6. (transitive) To crush ore with a dolly.

Adj

1. (Polari) Pretty; attractive.
2. (Sheffield, Yorkshire, especially) left-handed (also dolly-handed, dolly-pawed, dolly-posh)

Synonyms

doll

not complicated

hand truck

puppet

dollish

handcart

pushcart

simple

trolley

vestal virgin

riveting dolly

gathering iron

pushing car

manual truck

rivet holder

attractive

pile cushion

babyish

barrow

carriage

Translations

Püppchen

poupée

Puppe

boneca

carretilla

muñeca

nina

bambola

κούκλα

pupattola

κουκλίτσα

dolly

boneco

kukla

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈdɑli/

Etymology

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.