taunt

/tɔːnt/US/tɔnt/

taunt verb: to make fun of (someone); to goad (a person) into responding, often in an aggressive manner.

Verb

taunt (third-person singular simple present taunts, present participle taunting, simple past and past participle taunted)

(transitive) To make fun of (someone); to goad (a person) into responding, often in an aggressive manner.
- John taunts his brother to reveal his hiding spot.

Noun

taunt (plural taunts)

A scornful or mocking remark; a jeer or mockery.
- VVith ſcoffes and ſcornes, and contumelious taunts, / In open Market-place produc't they me, / To be a publique ſpectacle to all: / Here, ſayd they, is the Terror of the French, / The Scar-Crovv that affrights our Children ſo.1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- The attacks and the failure to catch the killer created an atmosphere of fear and dismay throughout Yorkshire, and provoked grim taunts to the police at Leeds United football matches such as “Ripper 10, Police nil”2020 November 13, Duncan Campbell, “Peter Sutcliffe obituary”, in The Guardian

Adjective

taunt (comparative more taunt, superlative most taunt)

(obsolete) Very high or tall.
- the great ships, for want of ſufficient masts, will lose the advantages the taunt masts would procure1764, Duhamel du Monceau, The Elememts of Naval Architecture

Proper noun capitalized: Taunt

Taunt (plural Taunts)

A surname.

taunt meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

taunt in Hindi

taunt: ताना tānā

taunt in Tamil

to make fun of (someone); to goad into responding: சீண்டு cīṇṭu

taunt in Marathi

a taunt, jibe, barb, or pointed remark intended to mock, criticize, or provoke: टोमणा ṭomaṇā, टोला ṭolā
to taunt, mock, or make a pointed remark at someone: टोमणा मारणे ṭomaṇā māraṇe

taunt in Urdu

taunt; jeer; sneer; jibe: طعنہ ta'na
taunt, jeer: بول bol
taunt: چوٹ coṭ

More languagesFewer languages

taunt in Telugu: దెప్పు deppu
taunt in Malayalam: ശകാരിക്കുക, ധിക്കരിക്കുക, അധിക്ഷേപിക്കുക
taunt in Kannada: ಮೂದಲೆ, ಮೂದಲಿಸು, ಹಂಗಿಸು, ಕೆಣಕು
taunt in Punjabi: ਤਾਹਨਾ tāhnā, طعنہ t̤aʻnah, مہنا mihṇā
taunt in Arabic: سَخِرَ saḵira
taunt in Thai: ยั่วยุ, ยั่ว yûua, ยุ yú
taunt in Vietnamese: chế giễu, lời chế giễu

Examples of taunt in a sentence

He's a scrappy dog and will charge at you if you taunt him.
The teacher accused the bullies of barbarianism when she caught them taunting the girl in a wheelchair.
The paladin can make for a decent tank, but I recommend that you get a class with better taunting skills.

All 36 example sentences with taunt

Forms of taunt

Verb
third-person singular present	taunts
present participle	taunting
past participle	taunted
past	taunted
Noun
plural	taunts
Adjective
comparative	more taunt
superlative	most taunt
Proper noun
plural	Taunts

Past tense of taunt: taunted

Origin of taunt

From Middle French tanter (“to tempt, try, provoke”), variant of Old French tempter (“to try”). Doublet of tempt.

Compare Old French tant (“so great”), French tant (“so much”), Latin tantus (“of such size, so great, so much”). See ataunt.

Perhaps a variant of Daunt.

Words formed from taunt

Words that rhyme with taunt

Questions about taunt

What does taunt mean?: Taunt means to make fun of (someone); to goad (a person) into responding, often in an aggressive manner.
What is taunt in Hindi?: Taunt in Hindi is ताना (tānā). See Taunt meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is taunt?: Taunt can be a verb, a noun, an adjective or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce taunt?: Taunt is pronounced /tɔːnt/ (UK).
What is the past tense of taunt?: The past tense of taunt is taunted.

Words near taunt in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-taunt.wav.

Cite this entry: “taunt.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/taunt. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.