mock-up

American  

[mok-uhp] / ˈmɒkˌʌp /

Or mockup

noun

• mock-ups
  plural

1. a model, often full-size, for study, testing, or teaching.

   a mock-up of an experimental aircraft.

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mock-up British  

noun

1. a working full-scale model of a machine, apparatus, etc, for testing, research, etc

2. a layout of printed matter

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verb

1. (tr, adverb) to build or make a mock-up of

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mock-ups
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mock-up

First recorded in 1915–20; noun use of verb phrase mock up

Explanation

A mock-up is a smaller model or replica of something that will eventually be built or that's used for teaching. When an engineer designs a new kind of airplane, she'll first make a mock-up. A mock-up can be a prototype, or a first version of something that will be improved upon before the final version is constructed. Another kind of mock-up is a page of a newspaper or magazine that's laid out so it can be rearranged and perfected before the finished publication is printed. Some mock-ups are full size, but made of cheaper materials than the final product will use — a furniture maker might use this method.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mock-up mock-ups

At this moment, the program doesn’t exist except in mock-up posters displayed at the Dec. 22 Mar-a-Lago announcement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 1, 2026

Some of those new technologies were on display, from a remote-controlled speedboat, zipping about in the harbour, to a mock-up of Proteus, the navy's first pilotless helicopter.

From BBC ● Dec. 7, 2025

In addition to winged Victories like that shown in the mock-up Trump’s arch, the sculptural program of the Arch of Severus includes depictions of four major battles in Parthia and the spoils of war.

From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2025

Such is the sensitivity around a nuclear exercise that none of the planes participating are actually carrying even the mock-up weapons.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2025

Robin was all excited by the mock-up gliders my father built.

From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep

Over the weekend he posted apparent architectural mock-ups of Corinthian columns replete with lions' heads, on the White House.

From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026

There were even mock-ups of unforgettable Macintosh icons like Trash, Bomb and Happy Mac.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026

The center was also designing and testing mock-ups of a lunar lander, which Armstrong — now the center’s namesake — later used to practice landing on the moon while still here on Earth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2026

As with many other types of equipment used by the Ukrainian army, volunteers play an important role in supplying decoy mock-ups.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2025

Eventually I get a menial job doing mock-ups, and a small furnished two-bedroom apartment with kitchenette and separate entrance in a large crumbling house in the Annex, north of Bloor.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Related Words

• copy
• figure
• image
• painting
• photograph
• picture
• portrait