a humorous or malicious deception 戏弄,恶作剧 they recognized the plan as a hoax. 他们意识到该计划是一出恶作剧。 [as modifier]he was accused of making hoax calls. 他被指控打恶作剧电话。
verb
[with obj.]deceive with a hoax 戏弄,愚弄
派生 hoaxer noun 语源
late 18th cent. (as a verb): probably a contraction of hocus