dupe

¹ American  

[doop, dyoop] / dup, dyup /

noun

1. a person who is easily deceived or fooled; gull.

2. a person who unquestioningly or unwittingly serves a cause or another person.

   a dupe of the opponents.

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verb (used with object)

duped, duping

1. to make a dupe of; deceive; delude; trick.

dupe ² American  

[doop, dyoop] / dup, dyup /

noun

1. duplicate.

2. Movies.

   1. a duplicate picture negative used for making additional release prints or for making special effects to be inserted in the release negative.

   2. the procedure for producing such a duplicate.

3. Television. a duplicate videotape obtained by electronic printing of the original videotape.

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verb (used with or without object)

duped, duping

1. to duplicate.

adjective

1. duplicate.

dupe British  

/ djuːp /

noun

1. a person who is easily deceived

2. a person who unwittingly serves as the tool of another person or power

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verb

1. (tr) to deceive, esp by trickery; make a dupe or tool of; cheat; fool

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• undupable
  adjective
• dupable
  adjective
• dupery
  noun
• dupability
  noun
• duper
  noun

Etymology

Origin of dupe¹

First recorded in 1675–85; from French; Middle French duppe for unattested tête d'uppe “head of hoopoe,” i.e., “fool” (compare tête de fou ), from unattested Vulgar Latin uppa, Latin upupa “hoopoe,” a bird thought to be especially stupid; cf. hoopoe

Origin of dupe²

First recorded in 1895–90; by shortening

Explanation

A dupe is a furry, ceremonial hat worn during ancient pagan rituals...or not. Dupe actually means “trick or deceive.” We’re sorry we tried to dupe you into believing the wrong definition. Dupe can also refer to the victim of a trick or hoax, and — used in this sense — it sometimes conveys the idea that the victim is easily fooled. Dupe comes from the French word for a type of bird called the hoopoe, which has an extravagant crest and a reputation for being dim-witted. (And no, that's not another attempt to dupe you; it's the truth!)

Example Sentences

Dupe videos have become so pervasive — and the influencers’ enthusiastic selling technique so predictable — that they’ve inspired a TikTok parody trend, where anything can be a dupe of anything.

From Washington Post • Mar. 22, 2023

The Dutch winger rattled the bar in the 32nd and made a cross for Amine Gouiri, whose tame header didn’t trouble goalkeeper Maxime Dupe in the 36th.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 7, 2022

Dupe Ajayi used to start her day with an hour-and-a-half commute on three subway trains from her home in the Bronx to Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn.

From New York Times • Jan. 31, 2018

There is a line in Funny Girl as spoken by Barbra Steisand:  “The Dupe is a Dope or the Dope is a Dupe?”

From Forbes • Dec. 13, 2012

Lord Dupe, Bubble, Squander, and Novice, are fashionable patrons and collectors of art.

From Art in England Notes and Studies by Cook, Dutton

Related Words

• baffle
• bamboozle
• betray
• cheat
• deceive
• defraud
• delude
• hoodwink
• mislead
• swindle
• victimize