Adjacent Words

Toy definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TOY, n.
1. A plaything for children; a bauble.
2. A trifle; a thing for amusement, but of no real value.
3. An article of trade of little value.
They exchange gold and pearl for toys.
4. Matter of no importance.
Nor light and idle toys my lines may vainly swell.
5. Folly; trifling practice; silly opinion.
6. Amorous dalliance; play; sport.
7. An old story; a silly tale.
8. Slight representation; as the toy of novelty.
9. Wild fancy; odd conceit.
TOY, v.i. To dally amorously; to trifle; to play.
TOY, v.t. To treat foolishly. [Not used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an artifact designed to be played with [syn: plaything, toy]
2: a nonfunctional replica of something else (frequently used as a modifier); "a toy stove"
3: a device regarded as providing amusement; "private airplanes are a rich man's toy"
4: a copy that reproduces a person or thing in greatly reduced size [syn: miniature, toy]
5: any of several breeds of very small dogs kept purely as pets [syn: toy dog, toy] v
1: behave carelessly or indifferently; "Play about with a young girl's affection" [syn: dally, toy, play, flirt]
2: manipulate manually or in one's mind or imagination; "She played nervously with her wedding ring"; "Don't fiddle with the screws"; "He played with the idea of running for the Senate" [syn: toy, fiddle, diddle, play]
3: engage in an activity as if it were a game rather than take it seriously; "They played games on their opponents"; "play the stock market"; "play with her feelings"; "toy with an idea" [syn: play, toy]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English toye Date: 15th century 1. obsolete a. flirtatious or seductive behavior b. pastime; also a sportive or amusing act ; antic 2. a. something (as a preoccupation) that is paltry or trifling b. a literary or musical trifle or diversion c. trinket, bauble 3. something for a child to play with 4. something diminutive; especially a diminutive animal (as of a small breed or variety) 5. something that can be toyed with 6. Scottish a headdress of linen or woolen hanging down over the shoulders and formerly worn by old women of the lower classes • toylike adjective II. intransitive verb Date: circa 1529 1. to act or deal with something lightly or without vigor or purpose <toyed with the idea> 2. to engage in flirtation 3. to amuse oneself as if with a toy ; play <they're just toying with him> Synonyms: see trifle • toyer noun III. adjective Date: 1801 1. of diminutive size compared to a standard form or breed <a toy dog> 2. designed or made for use as a toy <a toy stove>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a a plaything, esp. for a child. b (often attrib.) a model or miniature replica of a thing, esp. as a plaything (toy gun). 2 a a thing, esp. a gadget or instrument, regarded as providing amusement or pleasure. b a task or undertaking regarded in an unserious way. 3 (usu. attrib.) a diminutive breed or variety of dog etc. --v.intr. (usu. foll. by with) 1 trifle, amuse oneself, esp. with a person's affections; flirt (toyed with the idea of going to Africa). 2 a move a material object idly (toyed with her necklace). b nibble at food etc. unenthusiastically (toyed with a peach). Phrases and idioms: toy-box a usu. wooden box for keeping toys in. toy boy colloq. a woman's much younger male lover. toy soldier 1 a miniature figure of a soldier. 2 sl. a soldier in a peacetime army. Etymology: 16th c.: earlier = dallying, fun, jest, whim, trifle: orig. unkn.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Toy Toy, v. i. [imp. & p. p. toyed; p. pr. & vb. n. toying.] To dally amorously; to trifle; to play. To toy, to wanton, dally, smile and jest. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Toy Toy, v. t. To treat foolishly. [Obs.] --E. Dering (1576).

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Toy Toy (toi), n. [D. tuid tools, implements, stuff, trash, speeltuig playthings, toys; akin to G. zeug stuff, materials, MNG. ziuc, Icel. tygi gear; all ultimately from the root of E. tug, v. t.; cf. G. zeugen to beget, MHG. ziugen to beget, make ready, procure. See Tug, v. t.] 1. A plaything for children; a bawble. --Cowper. 2. A thing for amusement, but of no real value; an article of trade of little value; a trifle. They exchange for knives, glasses, and such toys, great abundance of gold and pearl. --Abr. Abbot. 3. A wild fancy; an odd conceit; idle sport; folly; trifling opinion. To fly about playing their wanton toys. --Spenser. What if a toy take'em in the heels now, and they all run away. --Beau. &Fl. Nor light and idle toys my lines may vainly swell. --Drayton. 4. Amorous dalliance; play; sport; pastime. --Milton. To dally thus with death is no fit toy. --Spenser. 5. An old story; a silly tale. --Shak. 6. [Probably the same word.] A headdress of linen or woolen, that hangs down over the shoulders, worn by old women of the lower classes; -- called also toy mutch. [Scot.] ``Having, moreover, put on her clean toy, rokelay, and scarlet plaid.'' --Sir W. Scott.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(toys, toying, toyed) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. A toy is an object that children play with, for example a doll or a model car. He was really too old for children's toys. ...a toy telephone. N-COUNT see also soft toy 2. You can refer to objects that adults use for fun rather than for a serious purpose as toys. Computers have become household toys. N-COUNT: oft supp N

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Plaything, bawble, gewgaw, trinket, knick-knack, gimcrack, kickshaw. 2. Trifle, petty commodity. 3. Trifle, small matter, bubble, bagatelle. 4. Folly, wild fancy, odd conceit, trifling opinion. 5. Play, sport, amorous dalliance. 6. Silly tale, old story. II. v. n. Trifle, dally, sport, wanton, play, bill and coo.

Moby Thesaurus

Charlie McCarthy, a continental, a curse, a damn, a darn, a hoot, agate, agent, ancilla, appliance, babe, baby, baby-sized, bagatelle, ball, bantam, banty, baseball bat, bat, battledore, bauble, bean, bibelot, bill and coo, bit, blocks, boob, boutade, brainstorm, brass farthing, bric-a-brac, butt, button, byword, byword of reproach, capriccio, caprice, caress, cent, checkerboard, chessboard, chump, cinch, club, cockhorse, compact, conceit, contrivance, copulate, coquet, cosset, crank, craze, crazy idea, creature, credulous person, cricket bat, crotchet, cuddle, cue, cull, curio, dabble, dally, dandle, derision, device, die, diminutive, disport, doll, doll carriage, dummy, duodecimo, dupe, easy mark, easy pickings, fad, fair game, fall guy, fancy, fantastic notion, fantasy, farce, farthing, feather, fiddle, fiddle with, fiddle-faddle, fidget with, fig, figure of fun, finger with, fish, fleabite, flimflam, flirt, folderol, fool, fool around, fool notion, fool with, freak, freakish inspiration, fribble, frippery, frivol, frolic, game, gaud, gazingstock, gewgaw, gimcrack, go-between, goat, gobe-mouches, golf club, greener, greenhorn, greeny, gudgeon, gull, hair, halfpenny, handmaid, handmaiden, handy, harebrained idea, hill of beans, hobbyhorse, horse around, humor, idle, implement, innocent, instrument, interagent, intermediary, intermediate, intermedium, jack-in-the-box, jacks, jackstones, jackstraws, jerk off, jest, jestingstock, joke, kickshaw, kid around, kink, knack, knickknack, knickknackery, laughingstock, lead on, leadpipe cinch, lever, loiter, lollygag, maggot, make love, make out, marble, marionette, mechanism, mediator, medium, megrim, mess around, midwife, mig, miniature, miniaturized, minikin, minimal, minion, minuscule, mockery, molehill, monkey, monkey around, neck, notion, novelty, organ, paper doll, passing fancy, patsy, pawn, peppercorn, pet, picayune, pick-up sticks, piddle, pigeon, pin, pinch of snuff, pinprick, pinwheel, play, play around, play with, plaything, pocket, pocket-sized, pony, potter, pretty, prize sap, puppet, pushover, putter, quirk, racket, rag doll, rap, red cent, rocking horse, row of pins, rush, sap, saphead, schlemiel, servant, shit, sitting duck, slave, small-scale, smatter, smooch, snap, sneeshing, sou, spoon, sport, steelie, stock, stooge, straw, string along, subminiature, sucker, sweet-talk, target, taw, tease, teetotum, tinker, tool, top, toy soldier, toy with, trifle, trinket, triviality, trusting soul, tuppence, twelvemo, twiddle, two cents, twopence, vagary, vehicle, vest-pocket, victim, wanton, whatnot, whim, whim-wham, whimsy, whisper sweet nothings