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scoff

1
[skawf, skof]
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verb (used without object)

to speak derisively; mock; jeer (often followed by at): If you can't do any better, don't scoff. Their efforts toward a peaceful settlement are not to be scoffed at.

verb (used with object)

to mock at; deride.

noun

an expression of mockery, derision, doubt, or derisive scorn; jeer.
an object of mockery or derision.

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RELATED WORDS

sneering, caustic, sharp, acid, scorching, offensive, corrosive, bitter, evil, disparaging, mocking, cutting, carping, hostile, disillusioned, jeering, biting, mordant, backhanded, mean

Origin of scoff

1
1300–50; Middle English scof; origin uncertain, but compare Old Norse skopa to scorn
Related formsscoff·er, nounscoff·ing·ly, adverb

Synonyms for scoff

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR scoff ON THESAURUS.COM
1. gibe. Scoff, jeer, sneer imply behaving with scornful disapproval toward someone or about something. To scoff is to express insolent doubt or derision, openly and emphatically: to scoff at a new invention. To jeer suggests expressing disapproval and scorn more loudly, coarsely, and unintelligently than in scoffing: The crowd jeered when the batter struck out. To sneer is to show by facial expression or tone of voice ill-natured contempt or disparagement: He sneered unpleasantly in referring to his opponent's misfortunes.

Antonyms for scoff

3. praise.

scoff

2
[skawf, skof]Slang.

verb (used with or without object)

to eat voraciously.

noun

food; grub.

Origin of scoff

2
First recorded in 1855–60; earlier scaff; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for scoffing

Contemporary Examples of scoffing

Historical Examples of scoffing

British Dictionary definitions for scoffing

scoff

1

verb

(intr often foll by at) to speak contemptuously (about); express derision (for); mock
(tr) obsolete to regard with derision

noun

an expression of derision
an object of derision
Derived Formsscoffer, nounscoffing, adjectivescoffingly, adverb

Word Origin for scoff

C14: probably from Scandinavian; compare Old Frisian skof mockery, Danish skof, skuf jest

scoff

2

verb

to eat (food) fast and greedily; devour

noun

food or rations

Word Origin for scoff

C19: variant of scaff food; related to Afrikaans, Dutch schoft quarter of the day, one of the four daily meals
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
Word Origin and History for scoffing

scoff

v.

mid-14c., "jest, make light of something;" mid-15c., "make fun of, mock," from the noun meaning "contemptuous ridicule" (c.1300), from a Scandinavian source, cf. Old Norse skaup, skop "mockery, ridicule," Middle Danish skof "jest, mockery;" perhaps from Proto-Germanic *skub-, *skuf- (cf. Old English scop "poet," Old High German scoph "fiction, sport, jest, derision"), from PIE *skeubh- "to shove" (see shove (v.)).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper