hoax
/hoʊks/verb, noun
hoax is spelled H-O-A-X: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, hoax means “To deceive (someone) by making them believe something that has been maliciously or mischievously fabricated” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in hoax?
| Letters | 4: H-O-A-X |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.4 times per million words; the 14,307th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is hoax?
Hoax appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hoax?
- UK /həʊks/
- US /hoʊks/
Hoax has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-hoax.ogg, En-us-hoax.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with hoax?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as hoax from its last stressed vowel (/oʊks/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of hoax
- hoaxes present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- hoaxing participle, present
- hoaxed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hoax mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To deceive (someone) by making them believe something that has been maliciously or mischievously fabricated.
noun
- 1
Anything deliberately intended to deceive or trick.
The phone call to the police about a tiger in a tree turned out to be a hoax.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hoax in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | duper, berner , canular, mystification, intox |
| German | anführen, hereinlegen, einen Bären aufbinden, foppen , Streich, Trick |
| Portuguese | fraudar , ludíbrio, fraude, embuste, embustice, logro |
| Spanish | engaño, embuste, bulo, filfa, borrego, paparrucha |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hoax come from?
Reportedly a form of hocus. Possibly from hocus-pocus or Latin iocus (“joke”). Compare hokey.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).