spoof
Americannoun
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spoofs
plural
-
a mocking imitation of someone or something, usually light and good-humored; lampoon or parody.
The show was a spoof of college life.
-
a hoax; prank.
verb (used with object)
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spoofs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
spoofed,
past participle, past
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spoofing
present participle
-
to mock (something or someone) lightly and good-humoredly; kid.
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to fool by a hoax; play a trick on, especially one intended to deceive.
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to trick (electronic devices, as radar), by interrupting or otherwise corrupting data in order to avoid detection.
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Digital Technology. to misrepresent (the identity of a party or the origin of data) in a communication, in order to misdirect digital authentication or other security measures: Suspects spoofed caller ID when they phoned in the anonymous threats.
Hackers spoofed the IP to fool the network into providing access.
Suspects spoofed caller ID when they phoned in the anonymous threats.
The sender’s email address was spoofed to fool the company’s spam filters.
verb (used without object)
-
spoofs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
spoofed,
past participle, past
-
spoofing
present participle
noun
-
a mildly satirical mockery or parody; lampoon
a spoof on party politics
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a good-humoured deception or trick; prank
verb
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to indulge in a spoof of (a person or thing)
-
to communicate electronically under a false identity
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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spoofsimple
-
spoofssimple
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have spoofedperfect
-
has spoofedperfect
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am spoofingprogressive
-
are spoofingprogressive
-
is spoofingprogressive
-
have been spoofingperfect progressive
-
has been spoofingperfect progressive
Past
-
spoofedsimple
-
had spoofedperfect
-
was spoofingprogressive
-
were spoofingprogressive
-
had been spoofingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of spoof
First recorded in 1885–90; after a game invented and named by Arthur Roberts (1852–1933), British comedian
Explanation
A spoof is a funny version of something, like a movie or a book. The classic comedy "Young Frankenstein" is a spoof of earlier, serious film adaptations of the famous novel. You can also call a spoof a parody. A spoof borrows material from the original, copying the style and characteristics that make it obvious what the subject of the spoof is. Movies like "Spaceballs," a spoof of the "Star Wars" films, and "Scary Movie," which spoofs the entire horror film genre, are great examples. Spoof originally meant "hoax," and it comes from a game, Spouf, invented by a British comedian in 1884.
Vocabulary lists containing spoof
Lesson 3
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Karthik Delivers
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"Watched" by Marina Budhos, Chapters 10–12
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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:
He produced David Lynch’s 1980 drama “The Elephant Man,” while Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 horror classic “Psycho” inevitably calls to mind Brooks’ 1977 Hitchcock spoof “High Anxiety.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
His "spoof" contender was making him "look rather silly", Queen Mary University of London politics professor Stijn van Kessel told AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Contact details, such as the website, listed on the checker should be used rather than any links seen on social media which could lead you to a spoof site.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
With a healthy dose of RuPaul’s signature wit and enough drag queen-friendly lighting to combat Hollywood’s run of dimly lit features, the team revives the disaster spoof with stylish aplomb.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
This reminded Jonah of a spoof he’d seen once in MAD magazine that was supposed to teach kids how to lie convincingly.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
In her fourth outing with Mr. Lanthimos, Emma Stone again shows an impressively daring quality in a grueling and degrading role, which spoofs today’s clichés about girlboss power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
“Death of a Unicorn” is so certain that its audience will care more about the paltry laughs it can draw out of its Sackler spoofs that the finished film feels altogether smug.
From Salon ● Apr. 4, 2025
Her performances during her three rounds on Friday quickly lit up the internet, with users creating a sea of memes and video spoofs, questioning everything from her outfit to her qualification.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2024
Prominent celebrities piled on, and a notable two — Kim Kardashian and Blake Lively — were criticized for their “bad taste” spoofs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2024
I can't say more without endangering the effect of Captain COKE'S ingenious shifts and spoofs.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 153, October 17, 1917 by Various
Actor Will Ferrell, whose 2020 film “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” memorably spoofed the competition, recorded a short video shown at the semifinal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026
When a ship’s location system gets spoofed, the vessel appears in the wrong spot on digital maps, sometimes seeming to dart between locations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026
“We usually rely on GPS for timing, but GPS is becoming increasingly prone to being spoofed or denied.”
From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026
The scene in which he torments his son by bouncing a basketball against his head was spoofed by Mike Myers' Dr Evil in the second Austin Powers film.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
The beggar spoofed Lady Hannah up hill and down dale with that, and she believed him.
From The Dop Doctor by Richard Dehan
And where does he fit into the British tradition of spoofing politicians?
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
However, some ships may be turning their trackers off or broadcasting a false position, a practice known as "spoofing".
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
The shadow fleet, using methods like signal spoofing, is testing the blockade, though Centcom reported no ships got through in 24 hours.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
Apple and Google have been instructed to block spoofing of the "gov.sg" domain and other official names on their messaging platforms.
From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026
"The mammals were already existent on the earth, as you know—" Suddenly he broke off, as he realized that Dodd was spoofing him.
From Astounding Stories of Super-Science February 1930 by Harry Bates
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
