spoof

American  

[spoof] / spuf /

noun

• spoofs
  plural

1. a mocking imitation of someone or something, usually light and good-humored; lampoon or parody.

   The show was a spoof of college life.

2. a hoax; prank.

---

verb (used with object)

• spoofs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• spoofed,
  past participle,  past
• spoofing
  present participle

1. to mock (something or someone) lightly and good-humoredly; kid.

2. to fool by a hoax; play a trick on, especially one intended to deceive.

3. to trick (electronic devices, as radar), by interrupting or otherwise corrupting data in order to avoid detection.

4. 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

1. to scoff at something lightly and good-humoredly; kid.

   The campus paper was always spoofing about the regulations.

spoof British  

/ spuːf /

noun

1. a mildly satirical mockery or parody; lampoon

   a spoof on party politics

2. a good-humoured deception or trick; prank

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verb

1. to indulge in a spoof of (a person or thing)

2. to communicate electronically under a false identity

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• spoofer
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• spoofs
  plural

Participles

• spoofing
  present
• spoofed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• spoof
  simple
• spoofs
  simple
• have spoofed
  perfect
• has spoofed
  perfect
• am spoofing
  progressive
• are spoofing
  progressive
• is spoofing
  progressive
• have been spoofing
  perfect progressive
• has been spoofing
  perfect progressive

Past

• spoofed
  simple
• had spoofed
  perfect
• was spoofing
  progressive
• were spoofing
  progressive
• had been spoofing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will spoof
  simple
• will have spoofed
  perfect
• will be spoofing
  progressive
• will have been spoofing
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spoof spoofs spoofed spoofing

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

But a spoof is under no obligation to turn that one joke into a full narrative as it does by deferring to a younger cast, and only checking in with the franchise’s original players occasionally.

From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026

If Broadway has scraped the barrel-bottom of A-list movies to adapt, at least it can mock them: “Titanique” is a frisky and funny spoof of the James Cameron juggernaut about that big ship that sank.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

For critic Jamieson, highlights include Jamie Dornan's rugby sketch, in which he goes to elaborate lengths to injure himself, and Traitors spoof The Great Big Crab Man.

From BBC ● May 17, 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

A council is urging whoever is putting up tongue-in-cheek signs in a city to stop the spoofs, saying they could "mislead residents and cause confusion".

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 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

Tech experts say that as A.I. tools become more accessible and easier to use, audio spoofs and videos with realistic avatars could be created in mere minutes.

From New York Times ● Feb. 5, 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

O’Brien spoofed the Hollywood studios pushing for filmmakers to reiterate plot points to make it easier for audiences watching two screens at home to keep up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 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

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

Signal jamming and GPS interference with "spoofed" coordinates are other methods Dauer cited for dealing with drones without shooting them mid-air.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2025

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 ship had a history of spoofing its location and was therefore classed as a part of the shadow fleet, said Diakun.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026

But jamming can work, as Ukraine has shown, as can "spoofing", which involves hacking into the drone's navigation system to change its destination.

From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026

It always made him angry to find that they were "spoofing" him.

From The Highgrader by D. C. Hutchison

Related Words

• burlesque
• caricature
• parody
• prank
• satire