taunt
1 Americanverb (used with object)
adjective
verb
-
to provoke or deride with mockery, contempt, or criticism
-
to tease; tantalize
noun
-
a jeering remark
-
archaic the object of mockery
adjective
Related Words
See ridicule.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of taunt1
First recorded in 1505–15; origin uncertain
Origin of taunt2
First recorded in 1490–1500; origin uncertain
Explanation
A short list of people not to taunt: your big brother, nightclub bouncers, evil wizards. Taunts are insulting comments, and, unless you are a really, really fast runner, keep them to yourself. Taunting is often associated with large groups picking on an individual. A mob might call out a hated king from his castle with taunts and jeers. Bullying can also take the form of taunting — something that teachers, administrators, parents, and students are working together to stop.
Vocabulary lists containing taunt
List 4
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The Crossover
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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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.
Mr Whiting, of Henry Taunt Close, Barton, will go on trial on 1 August.
From BBC • Mar. 28, 2022
Taunt photographed the River Thames from around 1860, eventually opting for this comfortable horse-drawn houseboat which served as a floating studio with a rooftop mounting for his camera.
From BBC • Jul. 21, 2015
Henry Taunt, the Oxford photographer, poses with a female companion, probably his housekeeper and friend Fanny Miles.
From BBC • Jul. 21, 2015
"Bitter Taunt" Sirs: Still I had read it, and if the truth must be told, with amusement, finding it typically American, quaintly ungrammatical and sophomoric.
From Time Magazine Archive
“Get in front of the pig. Taunt him!”
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
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.
