HOCUS-POCUS Definition & Meaning

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hocus-pocus

[ hoh-kuhs-poh-kuhs ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a meaningless chant or expression used in conjuring or incantation.
a juggler's trick; sleight of hand.
trickery; deception.
Synonyms: , , ,
unnecessarily mysterious or elaborate activity or talk to cover up a deception, magnify a simple purpose, etc.

verb (used with object)

hocus-pocused, hocus-pocusing or (especially British) hocus-pocussed, hocus-pocussing.

to play tricks on or with.

verb (used without object)

hocus-pocused, hocus-pocusing or (especially British) hocus-pocussed, hocus-pocussing.

to perform tricks; practice trickery or deception.

hocus-pocus

/ ˈ��əʊ��ə��ˈ��əʊ��ə�� /

noun

trickery or chicanery
mystifying jargon
an incantation used by conjurors or magicians when performing tricks
conjuring skill or practice

verb

to deceive or trick (someone)

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of hocus-pocus¹

First recorded in 1615–25; pseudo-Latin rhyming formula used by jugglers and magicians

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of hocus-pocus¹

C17: perhaps a dog-Latin formation invented by jugglers

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“You don’t need any hocus-pocus. All you need to do is focus.”

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The happy resolution is earned by more than hocus-pocus.

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When Becky isn’t dealing with the repercussions of using hocus-pocus to fix her life, she’s conversing with her dead daughter or stepping into Rebecca’s memories.

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The idea was to dismantle the hocus-pocus of concert dance, and in her early work, Tharp came on stern like her Judson elders.

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Salesforce deployed 14 tax subsidiaries scattered from Singapore to Switzerland, moving its money and assets around in a masterful display of accounting hocus-pocus that made its taxable income vanish.

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