dupe Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a person who is tricked or swindled
    victim.
  2. verb fool or hoax
    fool; put on; gull; take in; befool; put one over; cod; put one across; slang.
    • The immigrant was duped because he trusted everyone
    • You can't fool me!

WordNet


Dupe noun
Etymology
F., prob. from Prov. F. dupe, dube; of unknown origin; equiv. to F. huppe hoopoe, a foolish bird, easily caught. Cf. Armor. houpérik hoopoe, a man easily deceived. Cf. also Gull, Booby.
Definitions
  1. One who has been deceived or who is easily deceived; a gull; as, the dupe of a schemer.
Dupe transitive verb
Etymology
Cf. F. duper, fr. dupe. See Dupe, n.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Duped ; present participle & verbal noun Duping
Definitions
  1. To deceive; to trick; to mislead by imposing on one's credulity; to gull; as, dupe one by flattery.
    Ne'er have I duped him with base counterfeits. Coleridge.

Webster 1913