cosplay
Americannoun
-
the art or practice of wearing costumes to portray characters from fiction, especially from manga, animation, and science fiction.
-
a skit featuring these costumed characters.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cosplay
Explanation
The hobby of dressing up like your favorite fictional character is cosplay. Your city's annual science fiction convention is a perfect opportunity for cosplay. Cosplay was coined in Japan in 1984 as a portmanteau of costume and play, or roleplay — and that's exactly what cosplay is. Rather than simply dressing up, cosplay involves performing a character. Attend a Comic Con and you'll see a wide variety of cosplay: characters from TV and anime, video games, Marvel movies, Star Wars and Dr. Who. If you've always wanted to be General Okoye from Black Panther, cosplay makes it possible!
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:
Throughout the weekend there will be competitive gaming, cosplay, live entertainment and appearances from celebrities including the Sidemen and I'm a Celebrity winner Angry Ginge.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026
“You get to cosplay who you want to be and how you live your life.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
Yes, they make the sugar-dusted classics you dunk into thick warm chocolate, but here churros cosplay as dinner.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2025
Stephanie Smith, one of the developers, told The Times that the bill was born of the “protests of wealthy homeowners, many of whom cosplay as housing advocates until the proposed housing is in their neighborhood.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 2, 2025
It has become an all-conquering meme sparking its own fan fiction and cosplay characters.
From Barron's ● Nov. 26, 2025
A favorite look: One of Livingston’s favorite cosplays isn’t any character you’ve heard of — it’s his original character from Dungeons & Dragons, a fantasy tabletop role-playing game.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 23, 2024
In a 2014 educational special — which takes place in a fictional NumberCon convention — Abby cosplays as "One-Da-Woman," a spoof of DC Comics' Wonder Woman.
From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2021
Robert Franzese, 33, has entertained millions of fans in the last decade with his Peter Griffin cosplays and impressions, according to South West News Service.
From Fox News ● Oct. 14, 2021
Joined by Balvin and Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA, Karol cosplays a cowgirl in the video for her western-themed song “Location,” which fuses American country music, dance pop and Latin trap.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2021
Griffith has been shooting at Katsu since 2014 and some of her favorite cosplays aren’t even based on anime.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 6, 2021
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.
