spoof
Americannoun
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spoofs
plural
-
a mocking imitation of someone or something, usually light and good-humored; lampoon or parody.
The show was a spoof of college life.
-
a hoax; prank.
verb (used with object)
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spoofs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
spoofed,
past participle, past
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spoofing
present participle
-
to mock (something or someone) lightly and good-humoredly; kid.
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to fool by a hoax; play a trick on, especially one intended to deceive.
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to trick (electronic devices, as radar), by interrupting or otherwise corrupting data in order to avoid detection.
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Digital Technology. to misrepresent (the identity of a party or the origin of data) in a communication, in order to misdirect digital authentication or other security measures: Suspects spoofed caller ID when they phoned in the anonymous threats.
Hackers spoofed the IP to fool the network into providing access.
Suspects spoofed caller ID when they phoned in the anonymous threats.
The sender’s email address was spoofed to fool the company’s spam filters.
verb (used without object)
-
spoofs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
spoofed,
past participle, past
-
spoofing
present participle
noun
-
a mildly satirical mockery or parody; lampoon
a spoof on party politics
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a good-humoured deception or trick; prank
verb
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to indulge in a spoof of (a person or thing)
-
to communicate electronically under a false identity
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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spoofsimple
-
spoofssimple
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have spoofedperfect
-
has spoofedperfect
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am spoofingprogressive
-
are spoofingprogressive
-
is spoofingprogressive
-
have been spoofingperfect progressive
-
has been spoofingperfect progressive
Past
-
spoofedsimple
-
had spoofedperfect
-
was spoofingprogressive
-
were spoofingprogressive
-
had been spoofingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of spoof
First recorded in 1885–90; after a game invented and named by Arthur Roberts (1852–1933), British comedian
Explanation
A spoof is a funny version of something, like a movie or a book. The classic comedy "Young Frankenstein" is a spoof of earlier, serious film adaptations of the famous novel. You can also call a spoof a parody. A spoof borrows material from the original, copying the style and characteristics that make it obvious what the subject of the spoof is. Movies like "Spaceballs," a spoof of the "Star Wars" films, and "Scary Movie," which spoofs the entire horror film genre, are great examples. Spoof originally meant "hoax," and it comes from a game, Spouf, invented by a British comedian in 1884.
Vocabulary lists containing spoof
Lesson 3
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Karthik Delivers
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"Watched" by Marina Budhos, Chapters 10–12
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
His "spoof" contender was making him "look rather silly", Queen Mary University of London politics professor Stijn van Kessel told AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Contact details, such as the website, listed on the checker should be used rather than any links seen on social media which could lead you to a spoof site.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
But a spoof is under no obligation to turn that one joke into a full narrative as it does by deferring to a younger cast, and only checking in with the franchise’s original players occasionally.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
If Broadway has scraped the barrel-bottom of A-list movies to adapt, at least it can mock them: “Titanique” is a frisky and funny spoof of the James Cameron juggernaut about that big ship that sank.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
It was possible for hackers to use modded visors to spoof their retinal patterns and thus create a second account for themselves.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
It never disappointed us for a laugh with its great cast and their recurring characters and movie spoofs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
“Death of a Unicorn” is so certain that its audience will care more about the paltry laughs it can draw out of its Sackler spoofs that the finished film feels altogether smug.
From Salon ● Apr. 4, 2025
Her performances during her three rounds on Friday quickly lit up the internet, with users creating a sea of memes and video spoofs, questioning everything from her outfit to her qualification.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2024
Tech experts say that as A.I. tools become more accessible and easier to use, audio spoofs and videos with realistic avatars could be created in mere minutes.
From New York Times ● Feb. 5, 2024
I can't say more without endangering the effect of Captain COKE'S ingenious shifts and spoofs.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, October 17, 1917 by Various
Americans are awash in scams: phony UPS texts, AI-generated voices of loved ones in trouble, spoofed emails tricking city governments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Actor Will Ferrell, whose 2020 film “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” memorably spoofed the competition, recorded a short video shown at the semifinal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026
“We usually rely on GPS for timing, but GPS is becoming increasingly prone to being spoofed or denied.”
From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026
The scene in which he torments his son by bouncing a basketball against his head was spoofed by Mike Myers' Dr Evil in the second Austin Powers film.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
"Well, then, I spoofed him," said Petey, grinning.
From At Good Old Siwash by George Fitch
And where does he fit into the British tradition of spoofing politicians?
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Its hundreds of vessels use methods like spoofing their location signals and transferring oil at sea to misrepresent the origins of their cargoes and avoid getting caught.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
However, some ships may be turning their trackers off or broadcasting a false position, a practice known as "spoofing".
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
But jamming can work, as Ukraine has shown, as can "spoofing", which involves hacking into the drone's navigation system to change its destination.
From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026
Spoof the whole thing again, especially spoofing ourself for having ever taken it seriously.
From Shandygaff by Christopher Morley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
