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hocus

[hoh-kuh s]
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verb (used with object), ho·cused, ho·cus·ing or (especially British) ho·cussed, ho·cus·sing.
  1. to play a trick on; hoax; cheat.
  2. to stupefy with drugged liquor.
  3. to drug (liquor).
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Origin of hocus

First recorded in 1665–75; short for hocus-pocus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hocus

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Hocus loved her best, believing her to be his own, got upon the body of Mrs. Bull.

  • In his most impressive style he undertook to administer a solemn rebuke for the use of such words as jockey and hocus.

    Lord Randolph Churchill

    Winston Spencer Churchill

  • Hocus pocus, gipsy words of magic, similar to the modern presto fly.

    The Slang Dictionary

    John Camden Hotten

  • A good swinging sum of John's readiest cash went towards building of Hocus's country house.

  • This has been Hocus's constant language, and I am sure he has had obligations enough to us to have acted another part.

British Dictionary definitions for hocus

hocus

verb -cuses, -cusing, -cused, -cuses, -cussing or -cussed (tr) rare
  1. to take in; trick
  2. to stupefy, esp with a drug
  3. to add a drug to (a drink)
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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