spoof

1 of 2

verb

spoofed; spoofing; spoofs

transitive verb

1
2
: to make good-natured fun of

spoof

2 of 2

noun

1
2
: a light humorous parody
spoofery noun
spoofy adjective

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
To this day, one of her favorite parts of the ad campaign has been seeing all the ways people have spoofed it, especially drag queens. Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2024 Vexing for some travelers, use of security cameras at Airbnb listings was spoofed in a recent episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live, which suggested travelers were being watched from a toilet. Kate Gibson, CBS News, 11 Mar. 2024 The current guidelines are meant to stop landowners from attempting to shoot down drones overhead and prevent spoofing techniques from being used to send drones into the flight paths of other aircraft. Jeff Wong, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023 Lawrence was also a longtime pal of Frank Sinatra; their friendship was spoofed in a beloved Saturday Night Live sketch, where Mike Myers portrayed Lawrence to Phil Hartman’s Sinatra. Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2024 This is also not the first time Kramer has used AI to spoof a politician’s voice. Meryl Kornfield, Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2024 Ozon goes back almost 100 years to spoof #MeToo audacity — whether the Christine Blasey Ford accusations, the Harvey Weinstein trials, or the current persecution of actor Gérard Depardieu in France. Armond White, National Review, 26 Jan. 2024 The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined BofA Securities $24 million for more than 700 instances of spoofing through two former traders. Denny Jacob, WSJ, 30 Nov. 2023 Aside from spoofing serial numbers, the two men used various aliases to cover their tracks. Matt Novak / Gizmodo, Quartz, 21 Feb. 2024
Noun
The clip then cut to a trailer for a new episode of EM, a spoof of ER starring Eminem. EW.com, 20 Mar. 2024 Great shows are all over From a crazy-goofy spoof of Alfred Hitchcock to dance troupe Robert Moses KIN’s take on censorship, there are a lot of great shows and concerts to catch this weekend. Randy McMullen, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024 Hitler spoofs began as early as the 1940s, with Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator, and continued in films such as The Producers, Look Who’s Back, and Jojo Rabbit. Valerie Trapp, The Atlantic, 9 Mar. 2024 In a spoof ad, Gillis pitched the betting platform Rock Bottom Kings, which instead of sports, allows users to bet on how low their friends’ lives could sink. Kevin Dolak, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Feb. 2024 Since the show, up-and-coming makeup artists– including Mei Pang, Dee Carrion, and even Bratz dolls– have recreated the look from spoofs leaking from backstage. Essence, 2 Feb. 2024 Love isn't as easy for Hynes' character Ben in the Chiefs' new spoof film Falling for Football, however. Sean Neumann, Peoplemag, 10 Jan. 2024 In this slapstick spoof of the Western genre, a group of rival forces all fight to find $50,000 that’s allegedly buried in a rural meadow. Keith Langston, Peoplemag, 1 Mar. 2024 Neil Young has appeared alongside a Fallon spoof of himself. Brian Steinberg, Variety, 28 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spoof.' 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

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of spoof was in 1889

Dictionary Entries Near spoof

Cite this Entry

“Spoof.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spoof. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

spoof

verb
ˈspüf
: to make good-natured fun of
spoof noun

More from Merriam-Webster on spoof

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