For the baby-soothing object, “pacifier” is the usual US term and “dummy” is the usual UK term. Because “dummy” and “pacifier” have other meanings, the equivalence is specific to the infant-care sense.
ReviewedEvidence2 sourcesSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Use “pacifier” in US-oriented English and “dummy” in UK-oriented English for the rubber or plastic object a baby sucks for comfort.
Key details
Confusion Familyregional vocabulary
Rule Familyregional infant-care vocabulary
Termspacifier, dummy
Variant ScopeThe equivalence applies to the baby-soothing object only; both words have other senses.
Further guidance
Core difference
In the infant-care sense, US English normally uses “pacifier” and UK English normally uses “dummy.”
Fast Test
If the sentence is about the object given to a baby to suck for comfort, choose the regional term that fits your audience.
Usage Boundary
Do not treat the words as interchangeable in unrelated senses such as a dummy model/person or a person/thing that pacifies.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
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