hoax
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
- hoaxer noun
- unhoaxed adjective
Etymology
Origin of hoax
First recorded in 1790–1800; perhaps contraction of hocus
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A man who left a fake stick of dynamite outside the headquarters of MI5 has been found guilty of carrying out a bomb hoax.
From BBC
What if they could get someone close to the Fox family to confess details of a hoax?
From Literature
Turning Point USA executive Benny Johnson called the widespread outrage a “hoax.”
From Salon
His worries were balanced by the feeling that the whole thing was nothing but a hoax—a joke being played by a weird old man with a warped sense of humor.
From Literature
Why she would carry on a joke—a hoax— that hurt my friend so badly.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
