lampoon
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
lampoons,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lampooned,
past participle, past
-
lampooning
present participle
noun
verb
Synonym Usage
See satire.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
lampoonsimple
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lampoonssimple
-
have lampoonedperfect
-
has lampoonedperfect
-
am lampooningprogressive
-
are lampooningprogressive
-
is lampooningprogressive
-
have been lampooningperfect progressive
-
has been lampooningperfect progressive
Past
-
lampoonedsimple
-
had lampoonedperfect
-
was lampooningprogressive
-
were lampooningprogressive
-
had been lampooningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lampoon
First recorded in 1635–45; from French lampon, said to be noun use of lampons “let us guzzle” (from a drinking song), imperative of lamper, akin to laper “to lap up,” from Germanic; see lap 3
Explanation
When you make fun of something by imitating it in a humorous way, you're lampooning it. The writers at The Onion, Saturday Night Live, and FunnyOrDie.com are all experts in the art of the lampoon. Lampoon can be both a verb and a noun. To lampoon is ridicule. A lampoon is a parody or satire. Imagine you were frustrated by having your allowance reduced, so you wrote a funny play portraying mom and dad as dictators extracting lots of unfair taxes from their people. That's lampooning. And it probably won't help your allowance situation.
Vocabulary lists containing lampoon
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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Comedy Lingo
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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:
Ionesco’s brand of absurdism is indebted to classic French farce, which is redeployed in lunatic fashion to lampoon the nonsensical nature of human existence.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
Beeple, who is 44, spoke with The Wall Street Journal on Friday about his latest lampoon as he stood in the pen with his pack at the fair, which runs through Sunday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
Benjamin Franklin’s 1773 “Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One” used irony to lampoon British policy, undermining authority while avoiding direct flouting of the era’s harsh sedition laws.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2025
No topic was off-limits, and no president was beyond lampoon.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2025
They had, in impudence, chosen this night, the night of our festive lampoon, for their attack, knowing our officers engaged in the drama; there could be little question of that.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
His policy platform often lampoons mainstream politics while drawing on genuine public anger and frustrations, and advocating in support of democracy.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Trey Parker and Matt Stone's long-running animated sitcom regularly lampoons leading figures including US President Trump.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2025
In Field’s film, the writer-director slyly lampoons the pretension of figures high up in the worlds of ballet, opera, theater and symphony, as well as more recognizable personas in public-facing industries like film and music.
From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2025
David Thewlis and Daniel Mays lead the Old Vic’s “The Dumb Waiter,” which lampoons blind faith in authoritarian power.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2023
This contemporary lithograph lampoons the panicked gentry who fled the city - and thus turned Handel’s new oratorio, Theodora, into a box-office flop.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Celine Dion is lovingly lampooned in all her sentimental goofiness, along with the fervid plot of James Cameron’s blockbuster.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
Barack Obama was criticized for answering reporters’ questions in an “informal” tan suit, while Secretary of Labor George Shultz was once lampooned for appearing in an “old-fashioned” double-breasted suit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
Exact Sciences, which went public in 2001, sells genetic tests, a liver cancer screening test called Oncoguard, and Cologuard, which was memorably lampooned External link by Saturday Night Live in 2023.
From Barron's ● Nov. 20, 2025
The Spitting Image TV show, which lampooned celebrities, politicians and royals, was a huge hit for ITV when it first ran in the 1980s and 1990s.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2025
In his comic play The Clouds, Aristophanes, writing in 420 bc, lampooned rhetoric as the art of weak reasoning, “which by false arguments triumphs over the strong.”
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
The show customarily known as "South Park" is set in small-town America and known for crude language and lampooning hot-button social issues.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
Eastside Girls, meanwhile, is a tender depiction of Muna's neighbourhood, lovingly lampooning the staples of LA hipster culture – astrology, polyamory, roommate dramas and "negronis with the nice gin".
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The people at HBO are very concerned about leaks regarding who plays whom among the fabulous guest stars populating “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness,” Larry David’s seven-episode sketch-comedy series lampooning U.S. history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Still, it’s true that when the series was at its nadir, so few vibrant horror films were being made that it was stuck lampooning the now-forgotten Jessica Chastain chiller “Mama.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
He played the game like a child, or like someone who was bent on lampooning a sacred ritual, which amounted to the same thing.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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