lampoon
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
lampoons,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lampooned,
past participle, past
-
lampooning
present participle
noun
verb
Synonym Usage
See satire.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
lampoonsimple
-
lampoonssimple
-
have lampoonedperfect
-
has lampoonedperfect
-
am lampooningprogressive
-
are lampooningprogressive
-
is lampooningprogressive
-
have been lampooningperfect progressive
-
has been lampooningperfect progressive
Past
-
lampoonedsimple
-
had lampoonedperfect
-
was lampooningprogressive
-
were lampooningprogressive
-
had been lampooningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lampoon
First recorded in 1635–45; from French lampon, said to be noun use of lampons “let us guzzle” (from a drinking song), imperative of lamper, akin to laper “to lap up,” from Germanic; see lap 3
Explanation
When you make fun of something by imitating it in a humorous way, you're lampooning it. The writers at The Onion, Saturday Night Live, and FunnyOrDie.com are all experts in the art of the lampoon. Lampoon can be both a verb and a noun. To lampoon is ridicule. A lampoon is a parody or satire. Imagine you were frustrated by having your allowance reduced, so you wrote a funny play portraying mom and dad as dictators extracting lots of unfair taxes from their people. That's lampooning. And it probably won't help your allowance situation.
Vocabulary lists containing lampoon
100 SAT Words Beginning with "J," "K," and "L"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Comedy Lingo
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Beeple, who is 44, spoke with The Wall Street Journal on Friday about his latest lampoon as he stood in the pen with his pack at the fair, which runs through Sunday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
Chenoweth, who is as gleaming as a holiday ornament on Liberace’s Christmas tree, arrives at a canny balance of quixotic generosity and parvenu carelessness in her portrayal of a woman she refuses to lampoon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2025
No topic was off-limits, and no president was beyond lampoon.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2025
The brothers of “Blood Knot” lampoon the meaning of whiteness with costume choices.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2025
They had, in impudence, chosen this night, the night of our festive lampoon, for their attack, knowing our officers engaged in the drama; there could be little question of that.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
His policy platform often lampoons mainstream politics while drawing on genuine public anger and frustrations, and advocating in support of democracy.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
The first “Harold & Kumar” film frequently lampoons police brutality and sticks up for its marginalized characters at every turn.
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2026
Trey Parker and Matt Stone's long-running animated sitcom regularly lampoons leading figures including US President Trump.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2025
Created by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, this Apple TV+ comedy celebrates the movies even as it lampoons the circumstances of their creation to great comedic effect.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2025
This contemporary lithograph lampoons the panicked gentry who fled the city - and thus turned Handel’s new oratorio, Theodora, into a box-office flop.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
A year after he lampooned a judge in a mocking poem, he had the misfortune of standing before him charged with seditious libel for a pamphlet satirizing the Church.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
In fact, in an episode that aired earlier that year, Murphy lampooned the political error that would follow Jackson for the rest of his life.
From Salon ● Feb. 22, 2026
Exact Sciences, which went public in 2001, sells genetic tests, a liver cancer screening test called Oncoguard, and Cologuard, which was memorably lampooned External link by Saturday Night Live in 2023.
From Barron's ● Nov. 20, 2025
The Spitting Image TV show, which lampooned celebrities, politicians and royals, was a huge hit for ITV when it first ran in the 1980s and 1990s.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2025
In his comic play The Clouds, Aristophanes, writing in 420 bc, lampooned rhetoric as the art of weak reasoning, “which by false arguments triumphs over the strong.”
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
Eastside Girls, meanwhile, is a tender depiction of Muna's neighbourhood, lovingly lampooning the staples of LA hipster culture – astrology, polyamory, roommate dramas and "negronis with the nice gin".
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Southwest Airlines, long known for lampooning its competitors’ fees, will charge for extra legroom on flights starting on Jan. 27.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026
At the same time, the successful and famous come in for the harshest lampooning, including Elijah Wood, in an against-type scene reminiscent of Ricky Gervais’ “Extras.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2025
Getting horizontal in a relentlessly vertical city was a simple gesture that punctured most of the collective delusions that made that city run, at once lampooning and rejecting the pose of an upright citizen.
From New York Times ● Dec. 27, 2023
He played the game like a child, or like someone who was bent on lampooning a sacred ritual, which amounted to the same thing.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
