mannequin

/ˈmænɪkɪn/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈmænɪkɪn/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈma-ni-kən/ (ame, mw)

mannequin — noun

  • mannequinsingular
  • mannequinsplural

1. a full-size figure shaped like a human body that shops put clothes on so custome

1.名詞B2
釋義

a full-size figure shaped like a human body that shops put clothes on so customers can see how the clothes look, and that tailors or artists also use when fitting or drawing.

例句

Felix arranged three mannequins in the window wearing the new winter coats.

typical context: shop window display

The tailor pinned the silk dress onto a mannequin to check the length of the hem.

collocation: pin clothes onto a mannequin

同義詞
  • dummy

    everyday word; covers both shop and crash-test figures

  • dress form

    torso-only version used mainly by tailors and dressmakers

  • lay figure

    old or formal term; mainly the jointed wooden figure artists use

文法句型

a mannequin

mannequins in [location]

用法筆記

Subject is usually a shop worker, tailor, or artist; the mannequin is the object being dressed, posed, or moved.

常見錯誤

❌She wears the mannequin in the window.
✅The mannequin in the window wears the dress.
💡the clothes go ON the mannequin, not the other way around.
❌a manikin' (when meaning the shop figure).
✅a mannequin.
💡'manikin' usually means a small anatomy model used in medical training.

2. someone paid by a fashion house to wear newly designed clothes on a runway or in

2.名詞C1
釋義

someone paid by a fashion house to wear newly designed clothes on a runway or in photographs, so the public can see the latest styles. This sense feels old-fashioned today; most speakers say 'model' instead.

例句

In the 1950s, Élise worked as a mannequin for a famous house in Paris.

time period clue: 1950s; old-fashioned use

The designer paid the mannequins double when the show ran past midnight.

同義詞
  • model

    the standard modern word; neutral register

  • fashion model

    more specific; emphasises the runway and photo-shoot context

文法句型

work as a mannequin

用法筆記

Modern English almost always uses 'model' instead. Use this sense only when writing about the mid-20th-century fashion world or quoting older texts. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is a person doing a job, never an inanimate figure.

常見錯誤

❌My sister wants to be a mannequin one day.
✅My sister wants to be a model one day.
💡in present-day English, a person who walks the runway is a 'model'; calling her a 'mannequin' sounds quaint or odd.