Etymology From French duper, from Middle French duppe, alteration of huppe (“hoopoe”), from Latin, onomatopoeic.
1
A person who has been deceived.
It would vex me, indeed, to see you again the dupe of Miss Bingley's pretended regard.1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter 55, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:
I am responding to Allen Young's letter to the editor concerning two articles I wrote for GCN about my experiences in Cuba. The gist of Mr. Young's letter is that I am a commie dupe and the Cubans who shared there opinions and experiences with me were simply lying.1991 August 31, Sonia de Vries, “The Real Enemies Of Humanity Are Here At Home”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 7, page 4:
Informal A word which appears more than once in a crossword puzzle.
4
Informal A counterfeit; a fake, a (typically cheaper) copy (of some legitimate consumer product, design, etc).
TikTok could potentially be liable if lots of users are directing other users to the sales of dupes, she said, and she said if users have an affiliate relationship with the sellers of counterfeit goods, they could also potentially be liable.2020 March 1, Megan Graham, “TikTok teens are obsessed with fake luxury products”, in CNBC:
The dupe lived up to expectation in our head-to-head review, where we concluded that Revolution’s affordable formula is a “perfectly worthy alternative that won’t see you digging too deep into your pocket.”2023 February 21, Daisy Lester, “Revolution has launched a £10 alternative to Charlotte Tilbury’s £65 magic serum”, in The Independent:
1 more example
And many shoppers go to Aldi for its so-called dupes of more expensive, big-brand foods and beverages.2025 August 6, Julie Creswell, “Aldi’s Passionate, Cultlike Following Fuels Its Rapid Expansion Plans”, in The New York Times:
5
Video games An unanticipated method or incident by which duplicates of in-game items are created; a duplication glitch.
6
Video games An in-game item that was created by means of a duplication glitch.