Definition of 'fake'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense fakes
, present participle faking
, past tense, past participle faked
1. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
2. verb
If someone fakes something, they try to make it look valuable or genuine, although in fact it is not.
3. countable noun
Someone who is a fake is not what they claim to be, for example because they do not have the qualifications that they claim to have.
4. verb
If you fake a feeling, emotion, or reaction, you pretend that you are experiencing it when you
are not.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
fake in British English 1
verb
1. (transitive)
noun
4.
adjective
5.
not genuine; spurious
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
faker (ˈfaker) noun
fakery (ˈfakery)
noun
Word origin
originally (C18) thieves' slang to mug or do someone; probably via Polari from Italian
facciare to make or do
Word Frequency
fake in British English 2
noun
2.
one round of a coil of rope
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
Middle English faken, perhaps via Lingua Franca from Italian facciare to make or do; see fake1Word Frequency
fake in American English 1
verb transitive, verb intransitiveWord forms: faked or ˈfaking
2. US
to improvise
noun
3.
anything or anyone not genuine; fraud; counterfeit
adjective
5.
fraudulent; not genuine; sham; false
SIMILAR WORDS: false, quack
Idioms:
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
faker (ˈfaker)
noun
fakery (ˈfakery)
noun
Word origin
earlier feague, feake, ult. < ? Ger fegen, polish, sweep, in 17th-c. thieves' slang, to clean out a (victim's) purse
Word Frequency
fake in American English 2
verb transitiveWord forms: faked or ˈfaking
Nautical
to lay out (a line) in long, parallel, partly overlapping lengths so that it will run out freely without kinking
usually with down Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word Frequency
fake in American English 1
(feik) (verb faked, faking)
transitive verb
1.
prepare or make (something specious, deceptive, or fraudulent)
to fake a report showing nonexistent profits
2.
to conceal the defects of or make appear more attractive, interesting, valuable, etc., usually in order to deceive
The story was faked a bit to make it more sensational
3.
to pretend; simulate
to fake illness
5. (often fol. by out)
The running back faked out the defender with a deft move and scored
noun
SYNONYMS 3. feign, affect, dissemble, sham, fabricate. 11. fraud, impostor, quack, charlatan, deceiver.10.
anything made to appear otherwise than it actually is; counterfeit
This diamond necklace is a fake
11.
a person who fakes; faker
The doctor with the reputed cure for cancer proved to be a fake
13. Sport
a simulated play or move intended to deceive an opponent
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[1805–15; orig. vagrants' slang: to do for, rob, kill (someone), shape (something);
perh. var. of obs. feak, feague to beat, akin to D veeg a slap, vegen to sweep, wipe]Word Frequency
fake in American English 2
(feik) (verb faked, faking)
Nautical
transitive verb
1. (often fol. by down)
to lay (a rope) in a coil or series of long loops so as to allow to run freely without fouling or kinking
noun
Also: flake2.
any complete turn of a rope that has been faked down
3.
any of the various ways in which a rope may be faked down
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[1350–1400; ME faken to coil (a rope), of obscure orig.]Examples of 'fake' in a sentence
fake
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In other languages
fake
British English: fake
/feɪk/ ADJECTIVE
A fake fur or a fake painting, for example, is a fur or painting that has been made to look valuable or genuine, usually in order to deceive people.
The bank manager is said to have issued fake certificates.
- American English: fake /ˈfeɪk/
- Arabic: مُزَيَّف
- Brazilian Portuguese: falso
- Chinese: 假的
- Croatian: lažan
- Czech: falešný
- Danish: forfalsket
- Dutch: namaak-
- European Spanish: falso
- Finnish: väärennetty
- French: faux
- German: unecht
- Greek: πλαστός
- Italian: falso
- Japanese: 模造の
- Korean: 가짜의
- Norwegian: forfalsket
- Polish: zmyślony
- European Portuguese: falso
- Romanian: fals
- Russian: поддельный
- Latin American Spanish: falsificado
- Swedish: oäkta
- Thai: ปลอม
- Turkish: sahte
- Ukrainian: підробний
- Vietnamese: giả
British English: fake
/feɪk/ NOUN
A fake is an object, person, or act that is not genuine.
It is filled with famous works of art, and every one of them is a fake.
- American English: fake /ˈfeɪk/
- Arabic: زَائِف مدع
- Brazilian Portuguese: falso
- Chinese: 假货
- Croatian: krivotvorina
- Czech: napodobenina
- Danish: forfalskning
- Dutch: vervalsing
- European Spanish: falsificación imitación
- Finnish: väärennös
- French: faux
- German: Fälschung
- Greek: απομίμηση
- Italian: falso
- Japanese: 模造品
- Korean: 위조품
- Norwegian: forfalskning
- Polish: imitacja
- European Portuguese: falso
- Romanian: fals
- Russian: подделка
- Latin American Spanish: falsificación
- Swedish: förfalskning
- Thai: ของปลอม, การปลอมแปลง
- Turkish: sahte
- Ukrainian: підробка
- Vietnamese: đồ giả
British English: fake
VERB /feɪk/
If someone fakes something, they try to make it look valuable or genuine, although in fact it is not.
It's safer to fake a tan with make-up rather than subject your complexion to the harsh rays of the sun.
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