mock

verb \ ˈmäk , ˈmȯk \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of mock

transitive verb

1 : to treat with contempt or ridicule : deride

he has been mocked as a mama's boy
—C. P. Pierce

2 : to disappoint the hopes of

for any government to mock men's hopes with mere words and promises and gestures
—D. D. Eisenhower

3 : defy, challenge

the unstable, strange new world of subatomic particles that mock all attempts at understanding
—Philip Howard

4 a : to imitate (someone or something) closely : mimic

a mockingbird was mocking a cardinal
—Nelson Hayes

b : to mimic in sport or derision

followed the old man along the street mocking his gait

intransitive verb

: jeer, scoff

she … mocked at his piety as affectation
—Ferdinand Schevill

—

mocker

noun

—

mockingly

play \ˈmä-kiŋ-lē, ˈmȯ-\ adverb

See mock defined for English-language learners

See mock defined for kids

Examples of mock in a Sentence

The boys mocked him for showing fear.
He mocks art only because he doesn't understand it.
They continue to mock the idea of a new government.
We are being mocked for our religious beliefs.
You can mock me as much as you like, but I'm going to do it anyway.

Recent Examples of mock from the Web

In Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (which was actually set inside a video game), Johnson had fun playing a digital avatar, mocking his own absurd proportions and litany of super-abilities.

— david sims, The Atlantic, "Rampage Is a Big, Noisy Nothing," 13 Apr. 2018
Many on both the right and left are either mocking or belittling his legacy (or his prospects over the next nine months).

— The Christian Science Monitor, "Did Paul Ryan leave them rolling in the aisles?," 12 Apr. 2018
But George is also the exact kind of shoulder-checking, emotion-mocking bro-pal whose authentic affection for Davis wouldn’t stop him from drawing magic-marker dicks on Davis’ face if the human fell asleep in the gorilla enclosure.

— tasha robinson, The Verge, "Rampage is laughably dumb, but at least there’s plenty of rampaging," 11 Apr. 2018
Thing is, there's not much of it in Gaslight District, and what there is mocks all sides.

— steve heisler, Chicago Reader, "Second City E.T.C.’s Gaslight District examines the perils of living in the age of alternative facts," 11 Apr. 2018
Sarandos also couldn’t resist mocking Frémaux’s announcement that Cannes was banning selfies on the red carpet.

— yohana desta, HWD, "It’s Over: Netflix Won’t Be Going to Cannes After All," 11 Apr. 2018
Kimmel responded with a gay joke mocking Hannity's loyalty to President Trump.

— joey morona, cleveland.com, "Sean Hannity, Jimmy Kimmel feud is officially over," 10 Apr. 2018
That said, being mocked or being called out for being different isn’t funny or appropriate.

— johnny c. taylor, USA TODAY, "Ask HR: How do I ask for a raise? And what to do about ageism," 10 Apr. 2018
The two hosts got into a Twitter spat over Kimmel aired a segment mocking First Lady Melania Trump and her accent.

— patrick shanley, The Hollywood Reporter, "Sean Hannity Responds to Jimmy Kimmel's "Forced, Disney" Apology, Invites ABC Host to His Show," 10 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mock.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of mock

Middle English, from moker

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

mock Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of mock

ridicule, deride, mock, taunt mean to make an object of laughter of. ridicule implies a deliberate often malicious belittling.

- consistently ridiculed everything she said

deride suggests contemptuous and often bitter ridicule.

- derided their efforts to start their own business

mock implies scorn often ironically expressed as by mimicry or sham deference.

- youngsters began to mock the helpless wino

taunt suggests jeeringly provoking insult or challenge.

- hometown fans taunted the visiting team

copy, imitate, mimic, ape, mock mean to make something so that it resembles an existing thing. copy suggests duplicating an original as nearly as possible.

- copied the painting and sold the fake as an original

imitate suggests following a model or a pattern but may allow for some variation.

- imitate a poet's style

mimic implies a close copying (as of voice or mannerism) often for fun, ridicule, or lifelike imitation.

- pupils mimicking their teacher

ape may suggest presumptuous, slavish, or inept imitating of a superior original.

- American fashion designers aped their European colleagues

mock usually implies imitation with derision.

- mocking a vain man's pompous manner

mock

noun

Definition of mock

1 : an act of ridicule or derision : jeer

2 : one that is an object of derision or scorn

3 : mockery

4 a : an act of imitation

b : something made as an imitation

See mock defined for English-language learners

Examples of mock in a Sentence

they made a mock of the new recruit in front of the whole unit
obviously, the “priceless” Grecian urn that is destroyed in the movie was a mock

Recent Examples of mock from the Web

Most everyone else disagrees, including his ESPN cohort, Mel Kiper, who has Cleveland drafting Allen first overall in his latest mock.

— dave hyde, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Hyde5: QBs Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield there for Dolphins? McShay thinks so," 11 Apr. 2018
In his latest mock, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony pegged Langford at No.

— chris johnson, SI.com, "As Recruitment Nears Endpoint, Top Prospect Romeo Langford Updates Status at Jordan Brand Classic," 7 Apr. 2018
Your poodle and the other experts now have two weeks to call sources, read tea leaves, buy all of Sam Darnold’s private info from Facebook and come up with their final mocks before the April 26th draft.

— david whitley, OrlandoSentinel.com, "NFL mock drafts predict Elvis will return," 7 Apr. 2018
In that time thousands of product designers, engineers and suppliers must have sat in mock-ups, prototypes and pre-builds of the rakish fastback sedan, the South Korean company’s new halo car and performance flagship.

— dan neil, WSJ, "2018 Kia Stinger GT2: The Best German Car to Come Out of South Korea," 6 Apr. 2018
The top two players on almost every mock draft are Arizona center Deandre Ayton and Slovenian guard Luka Doncic.

— scott bordow, azcentral, "Looking ahead: How No. 1 draft pick might impact Suns' offseason plans," 1 Apr. 2018
In fact, Kiper has stayed consistent with this pick in his previous mocks.

— mark heim, AL.com, "Mel Kiper's latest mock draft ranks QBs, has four Alabama players drafted in first round," 28 Mar. 2018
Marshall said his group met around 8:30 Sunday morning and had all the creative mock-ups done by noon Tuesday.

— kirkland crawford, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan basketball in Final Four: Bank showing support via billboards," 28 Mar. 2018
The character names, as per Deadline, are Otis (Shia) and James Lort, who is a mock-up of Jeffrey.

— rebecca farley, refinery29.com, "This Shia LaBeouf Biopic Is Going To Be A Wild Ride & Here's Why," 19 Mar. 2018

Origin and Etymology of mock

see ¹mock

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

mock Synonyms

Synonyms

carbon, carbon copy, clone, copy, dummy, dupe, duplicate, duplication, facsimile, imitation, reduplication, replica, replication, reproduction;

Antonyms

archetype, original, prototype;

miniature, mock-up, simulation;

reconstruction, re-creation;

image, likeness, semblance, shadow;

impression, imprint, print;

approximation, reincarnation, version;

extra, reserve, spare;

mock

adjective

Definition of mock

: of, relating to, or having the character of an imitation : simulated, feigned

the mock solemnity of the parody

See mock defined for English-language learners

Examples of mock in a Sentence

We stared at him in mock surprise.
Every summer, our history club performs mock battles to relive our country's greatest war.

Recent Examples of mock from the Web

In the mock interviews, Stepanski and the other United representatives kept a running interview feedback sheet.

— staff report, chicagotribune.com, "Getting the job: United Airlines managers help lift Ridgewood students' interview skills," 15 Apr. 2018
Suzanne Lamothe, a retiree whose house is next to the main Hérouxville sign, said visitors came to the village to take selfies in front of the sign, some putting mock head scarves on their heads.

— dan bilefsky, New York Times, "Don’t Burn Women: Warning to Immigrants Looms Over a Quebec Village," 12 Apr. 2018
The boy was even able to participate in a mock arrest.

— Fox News, "Indiana boy battling cancer for third time becomes honorary sheriff's deputy," 11 Apr. 2018
Marie Gulich, a 6-5 German center who just completed her college career at Oregon State, is a popular mock draft pick for the Mercury.

— jeff metcalfe, azcentral, "WNBA draft: Phoenix Mercury seeking to win now but looking to future," 11 Apr. 2018
Four of Rubinjer’s other top ten posts mock Hillary Clinton on the pro-Trump community r/The_Donald.

— ben collins /, NBC News, "Russia-linked account pushed fake Hillary Clinton sex video," 10 Apr. 2018
Another group of mice received mock inoculations with saline.

— cassandra willyard, Scientific American, "Squeaky Clean Mice Could be Ruining Research," 9 Apr. 2018
Markle has become a pro at mixing high street with high-fashion; the soon-to-be-Duchess manages to effortlessly enchant in Haute Couture one moment, and then stun on the street in a put-together pencil skirt and mock-necked knit the next.

— carrie goldberg, Harper's BAZAAR, "This is Meghan Markle’s Favorite Affordable Canadian Brand," 9 Apr. 2018
Hoisted into the air by a crane, the mock helicopter cabin swayed above the water in total silence.

— eric adams, WIRED, "Inside the Safety Issues Surrounding the NY Helicopter Crash," 8 Apr. 2018

Origin and Etymology of mock

see ¹mock

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1548

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

mock Synonyms

Synonyms

affected, artificial, assumed, bogus, contrived, factitious, fake, false, feigned, forced, mechanical, phony (also phoney), plastic, pretended, pseudo, put-on, sham, simulated, strained, unnatural;

Antonyms

artless, genuine, natural, spontaneous, unaffected, uncontrived, unfeigned, unforced;

Near Antonyms

authentic, bona fide, real, realistic, right, true;

honest, ingenuous, sincere, unpretending;

easy, effortless, smooth;

extemporaneous, impromptu, impulsive, instinctive, unconscious, unprompted, unrehearsed, unstudied;

double-dealing, empty, facile, hollow, hypocritical, insincere, left-handed, mealy, mealymouthed, two-faced, unctuous;

exaggerated, histrionic, melodramatic, overacted, overdone, theatrical (also theatric);

cute, cutesy, genteel, goody-goody, mincing, overrefined, simpering;

conventional, formal, impersonal, inflexible, rigid, stiff, stylized, wooden;

artful, calculated, conscious, cultivated, deliberate, premeditated, studied;

mock

adverb

Definition of mock

: in an insincere or counterfeit manner —usually used in combination

mock-serious

Recent Examples of mock from the Web

The artists Kenya (Robinson) and Doreen Garner are sitting mock-regally on a divan in a moody Gramercy cocktail bar.

— adam davidson, The New Yorker, "The Podcast as Performance Art," 28 Jan. 2017

Origin and Etymology of mock

see ¹mock

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1625

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

MOCK Defined for English Language Learners

mock

verb

Definition of mock for English Language Learners

: to laugh at or make fun of (someone or something) especially by copying an action or a way of behaving or speaking
: to criticize and laugh at (someone or something) for being bad, worthless, or unimportant

mock

noun

Definition of mock for English Language Learners

: an exam that does not count and that is done to practice for a real exam : a mock exam

mock

adjective

Definition of mock for English Language Learners

: not based on real or honest feelings
: done or performed to look like the real thing

MOCK Defined for Kids

mock

verb \ ˈmäk \

Definition of mock for Students

mocked; mocking

1 : to treat with scorn : ridicule

Stanley had also tried to explain that he needed to save his energy … but the other boys just mocked him.
—Louis Sachar, Holes

2 : ²mimic 2

mock

adjective

Definition of mock for Students

: not real : make-believe

a mock battle

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mocker

mockingly

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mock

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mock

Definition of mock

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Origin and Etymology of mock

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mock

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MOCK Defined for English Language Learners

mock

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mock

Definition of mock for English Language Learners

mock

Definition of mock for English Language Learners

MOCK Defined for Kids

mock

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mock

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