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# hoax

«hoax» in Mova's school dictionary: **a trick that makes many people believe something that is…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a hoax, hoaxes); verb (hoax, hoaxes, hoaxed, hoaxing)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A hoax is a trick that makes many people believe something that is not true, such as a fake story, picture or warning. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hoax/#m1)

2) To hoax people means to trick them in this way. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hoax/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life and safety hoaxes spread online (fake news, fake warnings, chain messages); pupils learn to check sources before believing or sharing. A hoax call to the emergency services is a crime because it wastes help that others need. In stories a hoax can be a prank or a mystery to solve. Phrases: «a hoax call», «a hoax email», «it turned out to be a hoax».

### examples

- The photo of the giant shark turned out to be a hoax. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hoax/#x1)
- Making a hoax call to 999 or 911 is against the law. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hoax/#x2)
- The message saying the school would close was a hoax. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hoax/#x3)
- Before you share a story online, check it is not a hoax. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hoax/#x4)
- The crop circles were a hoax made by two men with planks. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hoax/#x5)
- They hoaxed the whole town with a fake monster sighting. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hoax/#x6)
- The detective soon realised the ransom note was a hoax. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hoax/#x7)
- April Fools' Day hoaxes are meant to be funny, not harmful. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hoax/#x8)
- He did this more than once, and every time the villagers found they had been hoaxed, for there was no Wolf at all. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hoax/#x9)

### note

Plural «hoaxes». A hoax is bigger than a simple lie: it is planned to fool many people. Related: «prank» (a playful trick), «scam» (a trick to take money). A «hoaxer» is the person who makes one.

### In the corpora

- [Death hoaxes about famous people spread fast because they are shocking; check a proper news site before believing or sharing one.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/46-tabloids-sources-close-to-and-the-photo/10/)
- [Such viral scares are usually hoaxes.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/202-rumours-and-gossip/6/)
- [Viral scary-character and «challenge» rumours are usually hoaxes, and an adult can check if there is real danger.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/202-rumours-and-gossip/19/)
- [Wait for trusted news before believing or sharing that a famous person has died; celebrity death hoaxes are common.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/284-facts-opinions-and-saying-no-to-dares/15/)
- [Hoax 999 calls take time away from real emergencies and can lead to trouble with the police.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/26-emergencies-ambulance-999-and-a-and-e/15/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «hoax» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hoax/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.