taunt1 verbtaunt2 noun
taunttaunt1 /tɔːnt $ tɒːnt/ verb [transitive] 
Word OriginWORD ORIGINtaunt1
Verb TableOrigin:
1500-1600 Perhaps from Old French tenter ‘to try, tempt’VERB TABLE
taunt
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | taunt |
| he, she, it | taunts | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | taunted |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have taunted |
| he, she, it | has taunted | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had taunted |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will taunt |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have taunted |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am taunting |
| he, she, it | is taunting | |
| you, we, they | are taunting | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was taunting |
| you, we, they | were taunting | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been taunting |
| he, she, it | has been taunting | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been taunting |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be taunting |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been taunting |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- He couldn't forget how they had taunted him about his appearance.
- She went on taunting him until he lost his temper.
- The older boys taunted Chris and called him a girl.
- When I didn't want to fight he would taunt me repeatedly. "Coward,'' he would say, "coward, coward, coward....''
- Now the telephone had acquired a personality, sat on the shelf so smug, taunting her with its silence.
- Of course he wasn't, an inner voice taunted.
- Or maybe, as she'd taunted earlier, his actions were governed by boredom.
- She was held in jail overnight, and she alleges in her lawsuit that guards taunted her with ethnic slurs.
- They taunt me and beat me.
- They were accosted by three white youths who taunted and then attacked them.
- You can blast your buddies and taunt them verbally at the same time.
THESAURUS► tease
to try to make someone angry or upset by saying unkind things to them → teasetaunt somebody about something to laugh at someone and make jokes in order to have fun by embarrassing them, either in a friendly way or in an unkind way. In everyday English, people often say make fun of rather than tease: · At work, we all tease her because she’s always late.· Sam’s sisters used to tease him because he was overweight.
► make fun of somebody/something to tease someone, especially in an unkind way, by laughing at something they do and making them seem stupid: · The boys at school used to make fun of me and call me names.· Everyone made fun of the way our Maths teacher walked.
► taunt to tease someone in a very unpleasant way that shows you do not respect them, in order to make them angry or upset: · In the end he hit the man for taunting him about his wife.· The other prisoners taunted him until he couldn’t bear it any more.
► pull somebody’s leg informal to tease someone in a friendly way, by trying to make them think something is true when it is not: · I’m not really 18. I was only pulling your leg.· I don’t believe you! You’re pulling my leg!
► wind somebody up British English informal to deliberately say something to someone, in order to see if they become annoyed or worried: · Are you trying to wind me up?· My friends are always winding me up about it.
► take the mickey (out of somebody) British English informal to make someone look silly, often in a friendly way, for example by copying them or saying something that you do not really mean about them: · I don’t speak like that – stop taking the mickey!· ‘You’re a genius, we all know that!’ ‘Are you taking the mickey out of me?’
Longman Language Activatorto make fun of someone or something► make fun of to make someone or something seem stupid by making jokes about them: · They made fun of the girls and their new outfits.· You shouldn't make fun of other people's beliefs.· Peter didn't seem to realize that they were making fun of him.
► poke fun at to make fun of someone or something, especially in an unkind way: · The other kids poked fun at him, saying his mother dressed him like a girl.· His plays ingeniously poked fun at the way the Communist Party corrupted language.
► tease to make jokes about someone when you talk to them, either in an unkind way, or in a friendly way that shows you like them: · Sam's sisters used to tease him because he was overweight.· Don't get upset, Stuart, she's only teasing.tease somebody about something: · Kevin's always teasing me about my cooking.
► pull somebody's leg informal to make fun of someone in a friendly way by telling something that is not true: · Did Ronnie really call or are you just pulling my leg?pull sb's leg about: · Don't worry. I was just pulling your leg about moving - I'm not going anywhere.
► taunt to repeatedly say unpleasant things to someone that show you do not respect them, in order to make them angry or upset: · She went on taunting him until he lost his temper.· When I didn't want to fight he would taunt me repeatedly. "Coward," he would say, "coward, coward, coward ...."taunt somebody about something: · He couldn't forget how they had taunted him about his appearance.
► send up a book, film, or performance that sends up a group or person makes fun of them by copying them in a very funny way: send up somebody: · Gibson's new play brilliantly sends up the upper classes and their attitudes.send somebody up: · Half the time, he uses his act to send himself up.
► sneer to show by your unpleasant attitude or remarks that you do not have a high opinion of someone or what they do: · Instead of helping, they just sat and sneered.sneer at: · He wanted to prove something to the critics who had sneered at his paintings.
► mock to make fun of a person, institution, belief etc, and show that you do not have a high opinion of them, sometimes in a friendly way: · Liz mocked him, saying that he was a coward.· The press mocked his attempts to appeal to young voters.· "Ooh, aren't you clever!" she mocked.· You mustn't mock -- it's not their fault they don't know much about art.
► take the mickey British informal to make someone look stupid, in either a friendly or unfriendly way, for example by saying something you do not mean or by copying their behaviour: · Just ignore him - he's just taking the mickey.· "You're a genius - you should go on one of those quiz shows!" "Are you taking the mickey?"take the mickey out of: · They're always taking the mickey out of each other, but they're good friends really.
► take the piss informal to make fun of someone - some people consider this expression to be rude: · I didn't mean it - I was only taking the piss.take the piss out of: · The show takes the piss out of virtually everyone, from politicians to eco-warriors.
The other children taunted him about his weight.taunt somebody with something They taunted him with the nickname ‘Fatso’. ‘And he’ll believe you, will he?’ Maria taunted.—tauntingly adverbtaunt1 verbtaunt2 noun
taunttaunt2 noun [countable often plural] ExamplesEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- Black players have to endure endless taunts.
- He wears a bike helmet - even though it brings taunts from his peers.
- Did the taunts and rejection of women make him evil or was it just a part of his makeup?
- Henri watched him go, trying to calm himself down, distressed at how easily he had succumbed to Richmann's taunts.
- The first Phoenix King had time to think of the daemons' taunts.
- The four subjects of his taunts, Trow maintains, had to silence Marlowe because of what he knew.
- The other two, second and third sisters, teased me too, but their taunts held no malice.
- To be the hired help is to be helpless in the face of taunts and insults.
- Was this a recrimination, or a taunt?
- We had to endure racist and sexist taunts.
THESAURUS► comment
a remark or joke intended to make someone angry or upset: something that you say or write in order to give your opinion: · Does anyone have any comments?· Readers are invited to send in their comments and suggestions.
► remark something that you say: · Just ignore them if they start making rude remarks.· I’m not sure what he meant by that last remark.
► point something that someone mentions about a subject in a discussion, argument, article etc: · That’s an interesting point, Steve.· He raises (=mentions) a number of important points in his paper.
► observation a comment in which you say what you think or have noticed about something: · Karl Marx made the observation that history repeats itself first as tragedy, second as farce.
► aside a comment made in a low voice, that you intend only certain people to hear: · ‘Is that true?’ she whispered in an aside to Don.
► quip a clever and amusing comment: · She knew she should reply with some light-hearted quip.
► dig informal a comment you make to annoy or criticize someone: · I’m tired of her little digs at me.
► taunt a comment intended to make someone angry or upset: · The fans made racist taunts throughout the game.
racist taunts► see thesaurus at comment