Meaning & use
cosplay
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Meanings
noununcountableinformal
The hobby of wearing a costume and acting in the style of a character from a film, game, comic or anime, usually at fan events.
Grammar: Uncountable for the hobby: she loves cosplay. A particular costume can also be called a cosplay.
Patterns
- a cosplay of someone
- into cosplay
Her cosplay of the wizard took six weeks to sew.
He got into cosplay after attending a comic convention.
The convention hall was full of cosplay.
verbintransitiveinformal
To dress up and behave like a character from a film, show, comic or game.
Grammar: Often followed by as: they cosplay as heroes at weekends.
Patterns
- cosplay as someone
- cosplay at something
My cousins cosplay as pirates every summer.
He cosplayed as a robot at the convention.
She spends months making armor so she can cosplay at festivals.
Word forms
| third person singular | cosplays |
|---|---|
| past tense | cosplayed |
| past participle | cosplayed |
| -ing form | cosplaying |
| plural | cosplays |
Common combinations
- cosplay costume
- She spent a month making her cosplay costume.
- cosplay contest
- He won the cosplay contest with a handmade suit of armor.
- cosplay as
- Many fans cosplay as their favorite characters.
- cosplay community
- The cosplay community shares sewing tips online.
- cosplay convention
- A cosplay convention filled the city center.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dressing up
- Dressing up is a general phrase for wearing a costume at any time, while cosplay is linked with fan culture and recreating specific characters.
- role-play
- Role-play stresses acting out a role in a scene or game, while cosplay stresses the costume.
- fancy dress
- Fancy dress is the British term for costumes at a party, while cosplay is tied to fan communities.
Word family
Commonly confused: cosplay or costume party?
cosplay vs costume party
A costume party is a social event where anyone dresses up, while cosplay usually means copying a specific fictional character with care.
Practice
Which word names the hobby of dressing as fictional characters at fan conventions?
Choose one answer.
Cosplay is the hobby of costuming as characters from shows, games and comics. A pageant or carnival involves costumes or performance but is not tied to fan characters.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cosplay”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.