hoax

1 of 2

verb

hoaxed; hoaxing; hoaxes

transitive verb

: to trick into believing or accepting as genuine something false and often preposterous
were hoaxed by the website
hoaxer noun

hoax

2 of 2

noun

1
: an act intended to trick or dupe : imposture
the victim of a cruel hoax
assumed the bomb threat was just a hoax
2
: something accepted or established by fraud or fabrication
believes the Loch Ness Monster is a hoax
a literary hoax

Examples of hoax in a Sentence

Verb a skilled forger who hoaxed the art world into believing that the paintings were long-lost Vermeers Noun The bomb threat is probably a hoax, but we should still evacuate the building. She was the victim of a cruel hoax.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Such criticism has led some police to respond more aggressively to hoax school shooting calls. Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 5 Oct. 2023 Students recall fear, confusion as Harvard University police responded to hoax emergency call Ultimately, the blame for any swatting incident belongs with the caller reporting the hoax, Davis said. John Hilliard, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Apr. 2023 The White House at the time praised Jordan, one of eight House lawmakers who were part of Trump’s defense team in his first Senate impeachment trial, for his work to ‘’unmask the Russia hoax and take on Deep State corruption’' and for his efforts to ‘’confront the impeachment witch hunt. BostonGlobe.com, 6 Apr. 2023 Advertisement How aspiring Indian entrepreneurs and students were hoaxed in the quest for funding The World Startup Convention was originally scheduled for Jan. 14-16., before it was postponed to March 24-26. Mimansa Verma, Quartz, 30 Mar. 2023 Related:Teen jailed after bomb threat hoax AirDropped to American Airlines passengers in El Paso The passenger was traveling with a companion and both were unharmed, though their clothes were soiled with food and wine. Dallas News, 2 Mar. 2023 After trying to hoax journalists with Project Veritas, Loomer moved to direct confrontations with public figures in recent years, disrupting interviews and news conferences. Terry Spencer, orlandosentinel.com, 19 Aug. 2020 False news articles were deliberately spread across our feeds to hoax us. Joanna Stern, WSJ, 8 Nov. 2018 The effort, dubbed #ThinkBeforeYouPost, reminds would-be pranksters that hoax threats are not a joke and could result in federal or state charges. Karen Kucher, sandiegouniontribune.com, 10 June 2018
Noun
Deepfakes, misinformation, and high-tech hoaxes threaten disclosure Most companies today have a robust cybersecurity infrastructure to maintain the integrity of financial information. Richard Torrenzano, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2024 Officials say the new security environment is plagued by hoaxes and harassment that sap police resources, spread fear and increasingly disrupt all parts of American life, from government to schools, businesses and private homes. Devlin Barrett, Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2024 The film brought to a larger audience the bewildering saga of the Morrisseau hoaxes, the various lawsuits, and the allegations involving Voss and Lamont. Jordan Michael Smith, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2024 Law enforcement quickly determined that the threat was a hoax. David Ingram, NBC News, 7 Feb. 2024 Also in January, Judge Tanya Chutkan — the federal judge overseeing the election subversion case against Trump — was the victim of a similar swatting hoax at her Washington, D.C., home, CNN reported. Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 6 Feb. 2024 Although law enforcement officers departed Easterly’s home last month after confirming the 911 call to be a hoax, this unfortunately is not always the case. Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 24 Jan. 2024 That iconic 1934 image, for example, was eventually revealed as a hoax. Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 23 Jan. 2024 To this day, scholars still wrangle over whether the manuscript is a hoax or not, though several lines of evidence, including the provenance and the material of the manuscript, are starting to suggest that the tome — gibberish or not gibberish — traces to medieval times. Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 31 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hoax.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

probably contraction of hocus

First Known Use

Verb

circa 1796, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1808, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hoax was circa 1796

Dictionary Entries Near hoax

Cite this Entry

“Hoax.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoax. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hoax

noun
ˈhōks
1
: an act intended to trick or deceive
2
: something false passed off or accepted as genuine
hoax verb
hoaxer noun

More from Merriam-Webster on hoax

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