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dolly

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A disc with downward legs and a vertical handle, used for agitating laundry.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

dahlee

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈdɑli

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A disc with downward legs and a vertical handle, used for agitating laundry.

  2. cooking

    A roughly cylindrical wooden object used as a base when molding pie crust.

  3. A device turned on a vertical axis by a handle or a winch, giving a circular motion to ore being washed.

  4. childishcolloquial

    A doll.

  5. A contrivance for stirring

  6. A tool with an indented head for shaping the head of a rivet.

verb

  1. transitive

    To move (an object) using a dolly.

  2. intransitive

    To move a camera (usually toward or away from its subject) using a dolly.

  3. transitive

    To wash (laundry) in a tub using the stirring device called a dolly.

  4. transitive

    To crush ore with a dolly.

  5. transitive

    To beat (red-hot metal) with a hammer.

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A disc with downward legs and a vertical handle, used for agitating laundry.

Used this way, dolly is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use dolly

  • “The camera operator moved the dolly smoothly across the floor for the shot.”noun

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.