spoof

American  

[spoof] / spuf /

noun

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)

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)

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

---

verb

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

2. to communicate electronically under a false identity

Other Word Forms

• spoofer noun

Etymology

Origin of spoof

First recorded in 1885–90; after a game invented and named by Arthur Roberts (1852–1933), British comedian

Example Sentences

Taking their cue from Nestlé, other companies soon joined in with some social-media spoofing.

From The Wall Street Journal

For Charlotte Ivers in the Times, despite the spoof skincare ad raising a smile, "the spark is not there yet".

From BBC

It never disappointed us for a laugh with its great cast and their recurring characters and movie spoofs.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

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

Related Words

• burlesque
• caricature
• parody
• prank
• satire