moll

noun

ˈmäl How to pronounce moll (audio)
ˈmȯl
plural molls
Synonyms of mollnext
1
a
: a gangster's girlfriend
b
: doll sense 2b
2
dated : a woman who engages in sex acts and especially sexual intercourse in exchange for pay : a woman who is a sex worker

Examples of moll in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Worse, Liu’s one-dimensional moll spends the majority of her supporting screen time agonizing over toxic men, despite the actor’s best efforts to elevate the material. — Courtney Howard, Variety, 20 Feb. 2025 Ball of Fire also pairs up a gangster’s moll, Sugarpuss O’Shea (Barbara Stanwyck), and a professor, Bertram Potts (Gary Cooper) who work together trying to take down her mob boss boyfriend, all while falling in love. — Maureen Lee Lenker, People.com, 10 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

probably from Moll, nickname for Mary

First Known Use

1604, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of moll was in 1604

Phrases Containing moll

Rhymes for moll

See All Rhymes for moll

Browse Nearby Words

moll
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Moll.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moll. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on moll

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for moll

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular Features

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All