hocus-pocus

American  

[hoh-kuhs-poh-kuhs] / ˈhoʊ kəsˈpoʊ kəs /

noun

1. a meaningless chant or expression used in conjuring or incantation.

2. a juggler's trick; sleight of hand.

3. trickery; deception.

   Synonyms:

   double-dealing, hanky-panky, dishonesty, deceit

4. unnecessarily mysterious or elaborate activity or talk to cover up a deception, magnify a simple purpose, etc.

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verb (used with object)

hocus-pocused, hocus-pocusing, hocus-pocussed, hocus-pocussing

1. to play tricks on or with.

verb (used without object)

hocus-pocused, hocus-pocusing, hocus-pocussed, hocus-pocussing

1. to perform tricks; practice trickery or deception.

hocus-pocus British  

/ ˈhəʊkəsˈpəʊkəs /

noun

1. trickery or chicanery

2. mystifying jargon

3. an incantation used by conjurors or magicians when performing tricks

4. conjuring skill or practice

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verb

1. to deceive or trick (someone)

Etymology

Origin of hocus-pocus

First recorded in 1615–25; pseudo-Latin rhyming formula used by jugglers and magicians

Explanation

Hocus-pocus is an illusion or a meaningless distraction that tricks you in some way. Some people believe in astrology, while others think horoscopes are nothing but hocus-pocus. A car salesman might use smooth-talking hocus-pocus to distract you from the fact that you're paying way too much for your new convertible, and similarly, a magician uses hocus-pocus to draw her audience's attention away from the rabbit behind her back or the card up her sleeve. The word hocus-pocus originally came from magic shows, in fact — it's fake Latin, probably copied from the Latin Mass invocation, Hoc est corpus meum, "this is my body."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hocus-pocus hocus-pocused hocus-pocussed

Until we all pay attention to what matters, the fee hocus-pocus will never stop.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025

The happy resolution is earned by more than hocus-pocus.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2023

Even up close, it was impossible to tell whether it was all sleight of hand or real hocus-pocus.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 21, 2021

Chloe Benjamin’s second novel, “The Immortalists,” is one of those hocus-pocus experiences — and, appropriately, it has magic at its core.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 4, 2018

One loaf, and she was a shoo-in for the baker’s job, though I suspect she may have knocked out the competition with some hocus-pocus, too, if rumors are to be believed.”

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

As it chanced he must have hocus-pocused them wrong, for though his hand was full of trumps, Rodd held nothing at all.

From Finished by Haggard, Henry Rider

"And I'm the pertickler party that hocus-pocused 'em."

From A Daughter of the Snows by London, Jack

But when one has been hocus-pocussed about anything one ... one feels very strongly about, one gets suspicious of everybody....

From When Ghost Meets Ghost by De Morgan, William Frend

This fellow Strange, with his fortune-tellin' and his charms and his conjures, has hocus-pocussed the whole neighborhood.

From Heart of the Sunset by Beach, Rex Ellingwood