hoax

American  

[hohks] / hoʊks /

noun

1. something intended to deceive or defraud.

   The Piltdown man was a scientific hoax.

   Synonyms:

   humbug, imposture, fake, fraud, deception

---

verb (used with object)

1. to deceive by a hoax; hoodwink.

hoax British  

/ həʊks /

noun

1. a deception, esp a practical joke

---

verb

1. (tr) to deceive or play a joke on (someone)

Other Word Forms

• hoaxer noun
• unhoaxed adjective

Etymology

Origin of hoax

First recorded in 1790–1800; perhaps contraction of hocus

Explanation

If you put on big fake feet, stomp through your muddy backyard and tell everyone you saw Bigfoot fixing a steak on your grill, you are playing a hoax on your friends. Hoax is believed to be a shortened version of hocus pocus, thus conveying the feeling of trickery and sleight of hand. April First, also known as April Fools' Day, is a day of hoaxes. Successful hoaxes in history: Orson Welles' War-of-the-Worlds radio broadcast in 1938 and the alien autopsy film footage made public in the 1990s. Do you believe the American moon landing in 1969 was a hoax? You're not alone. Six percent of Americans believe this event was staged.

Example Sentences

Further sowing online confusion were claims that the entire Artemis II mission was a hoax powered by artificial intelligence tools.

From Barron's • Apr. 11, 2026

Be it a hoax or an undiscovered species, the mystery and mythology around Bigfoot has captured people's imaginations for decades.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

You can watch the show as straight narrative, forgetting the hoax and regarding Anthony, who is as much a spectator as a participant, as just another character.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

“These were not hoax devices nor smokebombs,” New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Monday.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026

At first she'd assumed the letter was a hoax.

From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson