toy

CEFRA1

/tɔɪ/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    An object made for children to play with.

  2. 02

    verb

    To think about or use something without serious purpose.

Examples

  • It took three hours to put the broken toy together.

  • Tom appealed to his mother to buy a new toy for him.

At a glance

Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /taɪ/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A simple, light piece of music, written especially for the virginal.

  2. A thing of little importance or value; a trifle.

  3. Something to play with, especially as intended for use by a child.

More examples

In context

  • A grown man like him does not play with a child’s toy.

  • a toy and tackle (a watch and chain)

  • to toy with a piece of food on one’s plate

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The child played happily with a small plastic blank that made noises.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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”). Cognate with Dutch tuig (“thing”), German Zeug (“stuff”), Danish tøj (“stuff”), Icelandic tygi, Norwegian tøy (“equipment, riggings, stuff”), Swedish tyg (“cloth, textile, fabric”). Related to tug, tow, taw, tew.