: one that is easily deceived or cheated : fool
duped; duping
: to deceive or cheat easily : to make a dupe (see dupe entry 1) of
was duped into buying a counterfeit
duper
noun
plural dupes
informal
: duplicate
This new breed of browsing utility programs can also help you organize the pages you've retrieved, eliminating dupes, throwing out unwanted pages, and storing the useful ones in efficient hierarchies of folders.—
Fortune
Fortune"I dropped off the keys … before I left this morning, but I still have a dupe on my key ring."—Stephen King
Stephen King
duped; duping; dupes
informal
Examples of dupe in a Sentence
Noun (1)
an explanation of how the swindler was able to escape with all of the dupe's money
Verb (1)
They duped her out of $300.
we were duped into thinking the dummy was a real alien
Noun (2)
he built a dupe of the original model, which is locked in a vault
Recent Examples on the Web
Garth Friesen, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
What this uprooting does accomplish is refresh the ensemble of law enforcement figures Dexter must expertly dupe, a major advantage considering how stupid the entire Miami police department looked after eight years of proximity to Dexter’s genius.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 10 July 2025
Armond White, National Review, 25 July 2025
The problem is that a malicious email containing hidden instructions in the text can also dupe Google’s AI into turning the same summary into a phishing message.
—PC Magazine, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for dupe
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Constant exposure to social media posts comparing authentic luxury brands to replicas, known as dupes, impacts the mindset of younger shoppers, who often question whether the high price tags of luxury brands are truly justified.
—Garth Friesen, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
What this uprooting does accomplish is refresh the ensemble of law enforcement figures Dexter must expertly dupe, a major advantage considering how stupid the entire Miami police department looked after eight years of proximity to Dexter’s genius.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 10 July 2025
Verb
The Daily Show is part of the media activism that dupes Christianity and black performers — on a recent episode, hip-hop radio puppet Charlamagne tha God, enlisted as a dutiful member of the show’s cast, earned his position by cheering on death for POTUS.
—Armond White, National Review, 25 July 2025
The problem is that a malicious email containing hidden instructions in the text can also dupe Google’s AI into turning the same summary into a phishing message.
—PC Magazine, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for dupe
Cite this Entry
“Dupe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dupe. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dupe
1 of 2 noun
: one who is easily deceived or cheated
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share