mocks

Meanings

1. 1nounpluralBritishinformal

   Practice exams taken at school to prepare for the real, official exams.

   Grammar: Used with a plural verb and usually with "the": the mocks start on Monday.

   Patterns

   • take the mocks
   • do well in the mocks
   • the mocks are coming up

   She did badly in her mocks, so she studied much harder for the real exams.

   The mocks are in January, a few months before the finals.

   Teachers use the mocks to see which topics the class still finds difficult.

2. 2verbtransitive

   Makes fun of someone or something in an unkind or teasing way.

   Grammar: Takes an object: he mocks his brother. It is the third-person singular form of "mock".

   Patterns

   • mock someone
   • mock something
   • be mocked for something

   He mocks his little sister whenever she makes a mistake.

   The film mocks politicians without ever naming one.

   She was mocked for her accent when she first moved there.

Word forms

Common combinations

sit the mocks

All Year 11 students sit the mocks in November.

fail the mocks

If you fail the mocks, you still have time to improve.

mock exam

We have a mock exam in history on Friday.

mock results

The mock results were better than she expected.

Synonyms and how they differ

practice exams

A plain descriptive term; "mocks" is the shorter, informal word students actually use in Britain.

mock exams

The full form, slightly more formal and clear to speakers outside Britain.

Word family

mock verb

To make fun of someone or something.

mockery noun

The act of laughing at someone in an unkind way.

mocking adjective

Showing that you are making fun of someone, as in a mocking smile.

Commonly confused: mocks or mocks?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “mocks”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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