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.

---

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

---

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

This didn’t stop him from proudly sharing an A.I.-generated mock-up of Space Force uniforms to Truth Social over the weekend.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

I went through several rounds of editing to get the mock-up just right.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026

Detectives have previously released mock-up facial images showing how the man might have looked aged in his 50s, 60s and 70s.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026

That purported healing is taking place at “Free Spirits Wellness Center,” a mock-up clinic led by Sting dedicated to advance physiological and cognitive expansion for people working under intense pressure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026

Using these images, engineers at the "Farm," a secret 9,000-acre CIA training facility in Virginia, were able to construct a mock-up of the manhole.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

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

Sitting next to miniature mock-ups of the exhibitions, Opie noted that her longtime gallerist, Shaun Caley Regen, has christened this the “Catherine Opie World Tour 2026,” complete with T-shirts.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026

Throughout the process, he has been posting TikTok videos which show the development of the line - from initial designs to mock-ups - and has been engaging with praise, scepticism and critiques in the comments.

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026

At Authentic Brands, an in-house tool powered by models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and others allows marketers to generate mock-ups of ads and financial analysts to vet licensing agreements.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026

Star City contains full-size mock-ups of spacecraft, a hydro-laboratory large enough for a 20-ton space module, special aircraft that simulate weightlessness, two centrifuges, and a planetarium with the capacity to show 9,000 stars.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

Related Words

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