Mock

How to spell mock

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce mock

What does mock mean?

1. verbTo laugh at or ridicule someone or something, often by imitating them scornfully.
2. adjectiveNot real; made or done in imitation of the genuine thing for practice or pretence.
3. nounA practice examination taken before the real one, chiefly in British usage.

Mock in a sentence

• verb

  The other interns would mock his old-fashioned typewriter behind his back.

• adjective

  The law students staged a mock trial to rehearse their arguments.

• noun

  She revised hard so her grade in the mock would predict her final result.

• verb

  It is unkind to mock anyone for the way they pronounce a word.

• adjective

  Recruits took part in a mock evacuation to test the fire procedure.

• noun

  The school schedules a mock in January before the summer papers.

Where does mock come from?

Language of origin: French

Mock entered English in the fifteenth century from the Old French verb 'mocquer' or 'moquer', meaning 'to deride, to jeer at, or to make fun of'. The deeper origin is uncertain and may be imitative, perhaps echoing a dismissive puffing or scoffing sound made through the lips, which is why some scholars connect it to playful noises of contempt. From the literal sense of ridiculing someone, the word soon developed a second life as an adjective meaning 'imitation' or 'not genuine', as in a mock battle or a mock trial, since something done in mockery is a sham version of the real thing. That practical sense gave rise to the modern British noun for a practice examination, a 'mock'. The spelling stayed short and blunt, ending in the hard '-ck' that English typically uses after a short vowel in a one-syllable word.

How the word is built

• mock (single root verb/adjective; no affixes)