English▸ adjective not genuine; counterfeit:
fake designer clothing
expressing fake emotions.
▪ (of a person) claiming to be something that one is not:
a fake doctor.
▸ noun a thing that is not genuine; a forgery or sham:
the painting was a fake.
▪ a person who appears or claims to be something that they are not:
I felt sure that some of the nuns were fakes.
▸ verb [with object] forge or counterfeit (something):
the woman faked her spouse's signature.
▪ pretend to feel or suffer from (an emotion or illness):
he had begun to fake a bad stomachache.
▪ make (an event) appear to happen:
he faked his own death.
▪ accomplish (a task) by improvising:
all the experts agree that you can't fake it.
▪ Music improvise:
he fakes the melody line of a standard tune.
– ORIGIN late 18th century (originally slang): origin uncertain; perhaps ultimately related to German fegen ‘sweep, thrash’. Compare with fig2.