cosplay

1 of 2

noun

cos·​play ˈkäz-ˌplā 

ˈkäs-

plural cosplays

: the activity or practice of dressing up as a character from a work of fiction (such as a comic book, video game, or television show)

In cosplay, a good costume is as much about creativity with materials and construction as it is about the outcome. So while some people spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on custom outfits for cons, many more invest in time, using cheap materials and household items to transform themselves into characters of superhuman, mythical proportions.

—Jamal Jordan

—often used before another noun

cosplay fans

Festivities would not be complete without a cosplay competition.

—Charlotte Bray

cosplay

2 of 2

verb

cosplayed; cosplaying; cosplays

1

intransitive : to engage in cosplay

cosplaying as anime characters

The positive reaction he received from fellow conventioneers felt so good that he's been cosplaying ever since.

—Pam Kragen

2

transitive : to dress up as (a fictional character) in cosplay

She said she has cosplayed other women in science fiction or fantasy, but Wonder Woman is the first woman superhero, and one of the earliest representations of a strong, capable woman she saw growing up.

—Rebecca White

cosplaying noun

Cosplaying is a big, colorful part of Tokyo in Tulsa and it's safe to say that, other than Halloween, Broken Arrow has never been populated by this many costumed characters.

—Jimmie Tramel

a cosplaying event

Did you know?

If you enjoy cosplaying as your favorite anime character (say, Nezuko Kamada from Demon Slayer or Luffy from One Piece), you’ve got yourself a special, lexicographical twofer of words that were borrowed from English into Japanese and then back into English. In Japanese, anime is short for animēshiyon, which comes from the English word animation, referring to an animated cartoon. Japanese users similarly took the English words costume and play (as in role-play) and combined them into the word kosuchūmupurē, or kosupure for short, which was reborrowed into English as cosplay, first as a noun, and later as a verb. It's not required that one choose an anime character to cosplay, however—any fictional character will do, and probably has done! People are even starting to use cosplay figuratively to mean “to pretend to be,” as in “her chiweenie likes to cosplay as a much bigger dog whenever they visit the dog park.”

Examples of cosplay in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Many of them had no military experience, had been involved in various sorts of extremist activities in the United States, and were eager both to cosplay war and to re-start their lives. —Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2024

The Arizona Bao and Dumpling Festival with the Nom Nom Noodles Fest Now in its sixth year, this festival brings together a variety of food vendors, cosplay and anime experiences. —Bahar Anooshahr, The Arizona Republic, 11 Sep. 2024

Verb

In the sketch, Yang cosplays as the Brit phenom, clad in all black with matching shades and a luscious wavy wig, all emulating the Grammy nominee. —Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 4 Oct. 2024

The term has since been used to criticize corny, white lesbians who are often trying to cosplay as studs or stems while failing miserably. —Quispe López, Them, 1 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

cos(tume) entry 1 + play entry 2, after Japanese kosupure, short for kosuchūmupurē, borrowed from English costume + (role) play

Note: The Japanese word was allegedly introduced in print by the Japanese publisher and media producer Noboyuki Takahashi (born 1957) in the June, 1983 issue of the magazine Mai Anime/My Anime (see Brian Ashcraft and Luke Plunkett, Cosplay World [Prestel, 2014], pp. 18-20; the authors quote from an interview with Takahashi and reproduce pages from the magazine).

Verb

derivative of cosplay entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1993, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1993, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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