spoof

1 of 2

verb

ˈspüf 

spoofed; spoofing; spoofs

transitive verb

1

: deceive, hoax

2

: to make good-natured fun of

spoof

2 of 2

noun

1

: hoax, deception

2

: a light humorous parody

spoofery

ˈspü-f(ə-)rē 

noun

spoofy

ˈspü-fē 

adjective

Synonyms

Verb

• burlesque
• caricature
• do
• imitate
• mimic
• mock
• parody
• send up
• travesty

Noun

• burlesque
• caricature
• parody
• put-on
• rib
• send-up
• takeoff
• travesty

Examples of spoof in a Sentence

Verb

spoofed overly competitive parents in a mockumentary about tryouts for a national T-ball team

the newspaper was spoofed by a supposedly plausible claim of a UFO encounter

Noun

many viewers thought that the spoof of a television newscast was the real thing

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Server locations matter, partly because a bigger collection of places means more options for spoofing your own location, but mainly because a closer server usually yields better speed and lower latency. —PCMAG, 16 Jan. 2025

Wine Spilling On Kotb Saturday Night Live spoofed Kotb and Gifford as wine swillers, and an incident in 2012 reminds everyone why. —Toni Fitzgerald, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025

Noun

For Sony Repertory — studio executive Jeff Blake, who had hired him at Paramount, brought him there — Schlesinger was a vp who oversaw a 70mm restoration of Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and the release of the B-movie spoof The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (1981). —Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Jan. 2025

Neumayer detected the spoof by checking the headers and IDing the tool used. —Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 27 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Spoof, a hoaxing game invented by Arthur Roberts †1933 English comedian

First Known Use

Verb

1889, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1889, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

spoof

verb

ˈspüf

: to make good-natured fun of

spoof noun