mock
Americanverb (used with object)
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to attack or treat with ridicule, contempt, or derision.
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to ridicule by mimicry of action or speech; mimic derisively.
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to mimic, imitate, or counterfeit.
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to challenge; defy.
His actions mock convention.
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to deceive, delude, or disappoint.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a contemptuous or derisive imitative action or speech; mockery or derision.
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something mocked or derided; an object of derision.
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an imitation; counterfeit; fake.
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Shipbuilding.
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a hard pattern representing the surface of a plate with a warped form, upon which the plate is beaten to shape after furnacing.
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Also called mock mold. bed.
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adjective
verb phrase
verb
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to behave with scorn or contempt (towards); show ridicule (for)
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(tr) to imitate, esp in fun; mimic
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(tr) to deceive, disappoint, or delude
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(tr) to defy or frustrate
the team mocked the visitors' attempt to score
noun
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the act of mocking
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a person or thing mocked
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a counterfeit; imitation
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informal (often plural) (in England and Wales) the school examinations taken as practice before public examinations
adjective
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sham or counterfeit
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serving as an imitation or substitute, esp for practice purposes
a mock battle
mock finals
Synonym Usage
See ridicule.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mocksimple
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mockssimple
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have mockedperfect
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has mockedperfect
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am mockingprogressive
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are mockingprogressive
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is mockingprogressive
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have been mockingperfect progressive
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has been mockingperfect progressive
Past
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mockedsimple
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had mockedperfect
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was mockingprogressive
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were mockingprogressive
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had been mockingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mock
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English mokken, from Middle French mocquer
Explanation
Imitation may be the most sincere form of flattery, but to mock is to make fun of or mimic someone with contempt, ridicule or derision. "Louise’s favorite pastime was to mock her brother’s inability to sing on key." The verb mock — as in the use that inspired the name of the mockingbird — can be simple imitation but, more often, to mock someone is to show disdain through mimicry or parody. As an adjective, mock indicates a fake or a simulation: "The design team made the most fabulous mock Eiffel Tower for our staging of An American in Paris." "His mock gratitude was, at times, unbearable."
Vocabulary lists containing mock
The Diary of Anne Frank
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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Nothing But the Truth
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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.
See Examples For:
Many job seekers are employing artificial intelligence to rehearse asking for a higher salary by using large language models like Claude or ChatGPT to practice a mock negotiation.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Equipped with beds, mannequins, a mock laboratory, and protective gear, the simulation centre prepares doctors, nurses, and clinicians for deployments in DRC, or from regional countries at risk from the spreading disease.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
The official Instagram account for the Belgium national team also appeared to mock the debacle, posting a picture of striker Romelu Lukaku cupping his ear with the caption "overturn this".
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Names that NBA executives and mock drafts attached to the Lakers are Kentucky center Jayden Quaintance, Texas forward Dailyn Swain and Duke wing Isaiah Evans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026
My father mouthed the word in mock horror.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
In fact, Anthropic, which is behind the Claude AI chatbot, indirectly mocks OpenAI’s ChatGPT in its ad.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 6, 2026
She identifies herself as a U.S. citizen and lightly mocks Ross for filming their license plates.
From Slate ● Jan. 9, 2026
West featured as the boss of a fictional big bank who mocks customers while planning branch closures.
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2025
The monologue mocks man’s attempts to attach meaning to existence, but this novel approach underscores that while men may never be able to find meaning in life, trying is a necessary, even noble pursuit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2025
When Michelangelo mocks Leonardo for not delivering the goods, this is what he seizes on: You had eighty tons of bronze, and you still couldn’t get that statue done, you fool.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
More devastating, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, mocked Trump’s plan to charge tolls.
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2026
Charles Dickens’s “Little Dorrit” mocked the civil service with the fictional Circumlocution Office, which was dedicated to the science of “how not to do it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Its members have mocked hard-shell cholos and gangsters, often by placing them in funny scenarios.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
There’s something undeniably funny about watching international visitors enthusiastically embrace the very American foods that so often get mocked abroad.
From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026
He knew everyone in Bone Gap mocked him for it.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
Social media has been flooded with posts from users in Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, Ecuador and Peru questioning refereeing decisions or expressing disapproval of Argentina, while messages mocking rival teams also proliferated from Argentine accounts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
As the final whistle blew, social media lit up with a flood of mocking posts.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
Colbert also spent much of the episode openly mocking Paramount and CBS in ways that strongly suggested they were not exactly thrilled with the project.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
I have watched so much incompetent Knicks basketball—and spent so much time mocking this team—I almost can’t believe the words I am typing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
The walk from Dr. Minerva’s office to our apartment is a short one, but loaded with mocking stores.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
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.