lampoon

lampoon
1 of 2
noun
lam·;poon lam-;p;n
Synonyms of lampoon
: SATIRE sense 1
specifically : a harsh satire usually directed against an individual
He said such ridiculous things that he was often the target of lampoons in the press.
lampoon

2 of 2
verb
lampooned; lampooning; lampoons
transitive verb

: to make the subject of a lampoon : RIDICULE
lampooner noun
lampoonery
lam-;p;-n;-r;
-;p;n-r;
 noun



Did you know?
Lampoon can be a noun or a verb. The noun lampoon (meaning "satire" or, specifically, "a harsh satire usually directed against an individual") was first used in English in the 17th century and may be familiar from the names of humor publications such as The Harvard Lampoon and its now-defunct spinoff National Lampoon. Both the noun and the verb come from the French word lampon, which likely originated from lampons, a form of the verb lamper, meaning "to drink to the bottom." So what is the connection? Lampons! (meaning "Let us guzzle!"—that is, drink greedily) was a frequent refrain in 17th-century French satirical poems.


Synonyms
Noun

pasquinade
satire

Examples of lampoon in a Sentence
Noun
He said such ridiculous things that he was often the target of lampoons in the press.
this classic musical is a lampoon of the movie business at the time when sound was introduced
Verb
The politician was lampooned in cartoons.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Saturday Night Live kicked off with Bowen Yang reprising his role as George Santos in what could be one of the last instances of the former congressman being the subject of such a high-profile lampoon given his expulsion from the House of Representatives Friday.
—William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 3 Dec. 2023
The solipsism of artists and influencers offers infinite variations on self-lacerating lampoon, and Sebastian Silva’s new film Rotting in the Sun comes up with a dandy.
—Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lampoon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.



Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb

French lampon

First Known Use
Noun

1645, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1657, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lampoon was in 1645
See more words from the same year