Dupe

Etymology

Short for "duplicate." The modern noun drops any sense of deception — a dupe isn’t a fake passed off as genuine, just an acknowledged imitation. Beauty and fashion communities on TikTok popularized it in the 2020s, where "#dupe" became a mark of smart shopping.

The older verb "dupe," meaning to trick, is a separate word — from a French word for a gullible person, perhaps "huppe," the hoopoe bird once thought foolish.

noun · /DOOP/
A cheaper product that closely imitates the look or effect of a premium one, sold and sought openly as a stand-in for the real thing.
What it names
A handle for a shift in consumer attitude — finding and flaunting the affordable lookalike, treating the substitution as savvy rather than second-best.
Example
This ten-dollar dupe of the designer serum works almost as well as the eighty-dollar original.
Related idea
A dupe is not a counterfeit: a counterfeit lies about being the branded product, while a dupe is upfront about being a look-alike alternative.
verb · /DOOP/
To deceive or trick someone; as a noun, the gullible victim so fooled.
What it names
The act of taking someone in — or the person taken in.
Example
Investors were duped into pouring money into a company that never existed.
Related idea
To dupe someone is to hoodwink or bamboozle them — the everyday craft of a grifter.