dupe

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈdüp 

 also  ˈdyüp

: one that is easily deceived or cheated : fool

dupe

2 of 4

verb (1)

duped; duping

transitive verb

: to deceive or cheat easily : to make a dupe (see dupe entry 1) of

was duped into buying a counterfeit

duper noun

dupe

3 of 4

noun (2)

plural dupes

informal

: duplicate

This new breed of browsing utility programs can also help you organize the pages you've retrieved, eliminating dupes, throwing out unwanted pages, and storing the useful ones in efficient hierarchies of folders.

—Fortune

"I dropped off the keys … before I left this morning, but I still have a dupe on my key ring."

—Stephen King

dupe

4 of 4

verb (2)

duped; duping; dupes

transitive + intransitive

informal

: duplicate, copy

dupe a disc

The video quality was degraded by repeated duping.

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• chump
• gull
• mug [chiefly British]
• patsy
• pigeon
• pushover
• sap
• soft touch
• sucker
• tool

Verb (1)

• bamboozle
• beguile
• bluff
• buffalo
• burn
• catch
• con
• cozen
• deceive
• delude
• fake out
• fool
• gaff
• gammon
• gull
• have
• have on [chiefly British]
• hoax
• hoodwink
• hornswoggle
• humbug
• juggle
• misguide
• misinform
• mislead
• snooker
• snow
• spoof
• string along
• suck in
• sucker
• take in
• trick

Noun (2)

• carbon
• carbon copy
• clone
• copy
• dummy
• duplicate
• duplication
• facsimile
• imitation
• mock
• reduplication
• replica
• replication
• reproduction

Examples of dupe in a Sentence

Noun (1)

an explanation of how the swindler was able to escape with all of the dupe's money

Verb (1)

They duped her out of $300.

we were duped into thinking the dummy was a real alien

Noun (2)

he built a dupe of the original model, which is locked in a vault

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Despite being the real deal among dupes, the actor only came in around 13th place. —Jen Juneau, People.com, 16 Dec. 2024

The category’s stellar performance came despite many consumers’ shrinking budgets — due to inflation and geopolitical issues — and the escalation of dupes. —Jennifer Weil, WWD, 16 Dec. 2024

Verb

By the numbers: 80% of Philadelphia residents surveyed worry about attempts to dupe voters in the heat of this historic election, per SmartNews. —Isaac Avilucea, Axios, 24 Oct. 2024

By the numbers: 82% of Denver residents surveyed worry about attempts to dupe voters in the heat of this historic election, SmartNews figures show. —Alayna Alvarez, Axios, 23 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1) and Verb (1)

French, from Middle French duppe, probably alteration of huppe hoopoe

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1681, in the meaning defined above

Verb (1)

1704, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

circa 1900, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1912, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

dupe

1 of 2 noun

ˈd(y)üp 

: one who is easily deceived or cheated

dupe

2 of 2 verb

duped; duping

: deceive sense 1, cheat

duper noun