A puppet is a figure of a person or animal that someone controls to make it move and seem alive. Traditional puppets might have strings attached to their arms and legs, or a hand might slip inside to move them. Watch a skilled puppeteer work, and you'll see a lifeless cloth figure transform into a character that appears to think, feel, and act on its own.

Puppets have entertained people for thousands of years, from ancient shadow puppets in Indonesia to Punch and Judy shows in old England to modern puppet characters on television. Jim Henson's Muppets made puppetry famous worldwide, creating characters so vivid that audiences sometimes forgot they were watching felt and foam.

The word also describes someone who lets others control their decisions and actions. If someone calls a leader a puppet, they mean that person just follows orders from someone more powerful behind the scenes. A puppet government is one that appears independent but actually takes instructions from another country. When someone acts like a puppet on a string, they're being manipulated, moving however someone else wants them to move rather than thinking for themselves.

Puppetry takes real skill: making an object seem alive requires practice, creativity, and understanding of how creatures move. A good puppeteer can make you laugh, cry, or forget you're watching something controlled by human hands.