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dupe

1
[ doop, dyoop ]
/ dup, dyup /
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See synonyms for: dupe / duped / dupable on Thesaurus.com
noun
a person who is easily deceived or fooled; gull.
a person who unquestioningly or unwittingly serves a cause or another person: a dupe of the opponents.
verb (used with object), duped, dup·ing.
to make a dupe of; deceive; delude; trick.
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Origin of dupe

1
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

OTHER WORDS FROM dupe

dup·a·ble, adjectivedup·a·bil·i·ty [doo-puh-bil-i-tee, dyoo-], /ˌdu pəˈbɪl ɪ ti, ˌdyu-/, noundup·er, nounun·dup·a·ble, adjective

Other definitions for dupe (2 of 2)

dupe2
[ doop, dyoop ]
/ dup, dyup /
Informal.
noun
duplicate.
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.
Television. a duplicate videotape obtained by electronic printing of the original videotape.
verb (used with or without object), duped, dup·ing.
to duplicate.
adjective
duplicate.

Origin of dupe

2
First recorded in 1895–90; by shortening
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to dupe

patsy, sitting duck, baffle, bamboozle, betray, cheat, deceive, defraud, delude, hoodwink, mislead, swindle, victimize, butt, chump, fish, fool, mark, pigeon, pushover

How to use dupe in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dupe

dupe
/ (djuːp) /
noun
a person who is easily deceived
a person who unwittingly serves as the tool of another person or power
verb
(tr) to deceive, esp by trickery; make a dupe or tool of; cheat; fool

Derived forms of dupe

dupable, adjectivedupability, nounduper, noundupery, noun

Word Origin for dupe

C17: from French, from Old French duppe, contraction of de huppe of (a) hoopoe (from Latin upupa); from the bird's reputation for extreme stupidity
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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