toy
Forms
- Plural
- toys
- Comparative
- more toy
- Superlative
- most toy
- present (v1)
- toy
- past (v2)
- toyed
- past participle (v3)
- toyed
- present participle
- toying
- 3rd person singular
- toys
Definitions
1.Something to play with, especially as intended for use by a child.
- A grown man like him does not play with a child’s toy.
2.A thing of little importance or value; a trifle.
- That toy is made of wood.
3.A simple, light piece of music, written especially for the virginal.
- That toy is made of wood.
4.Ellipsis of toy dog.
- Since standards are large dogs, they grow much more rapidly than miniatures and toys, which means that they require more supplements.
1.To play (with) in an idle or desultory way.
- Figo is toying with the English defence.
2.To ponder or consider.
- I have been toying with the idea of starting my own business.
3.To stimulate with a sex toy.(slang)
- He could see her hand go to her slit, and soon she was toying herself along, breathing heavily.
1.Impractical or unsuitable for real-world use, due to being unrealistically small or simple.
- Our evaluation scenarios are purposefully simplistic […] This implies that the scenarios are quite toy and not representative of real deployments.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #2622
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English toye (“amorous play, piece of fun or entertainment”), probably from Middle Dutch toy, tuyg (“tools, apparatus, utensil, ornament”) as in Dutch speel-tuig (“plaything, toy”), from Old Dutch *tiug, from Proto-West Germanic *tiugī̆, *teug, from Proto-Germanic *teugą (“stuff, matter, device, gear, lever”, literally “that which is drawn or pulled”), from Proto-Germanic *teuhaną (“to lead, bring, pull”), from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to pull, lead”).