Dupe
/doop/noun
Meaning
A dupe is a product presented as an affordable substitute for another, usually more expensive or harder-to-find item. It may copy the original’s appearance, color, scent, features, or performance without pretending to be the original brand.[4][5]
- 1. A less expensive product that resembles a premium, designer, or viral item in appearance or function.
- 2. A close substitute for a specific product, shade, scent, or style, especially when the original is unavailable or discontinued.
Examples
“This $12 blush is a dupe for the one in my cart.”
“Need a dupe for those boots before Friday.”
“Not an exact dupe, but the finish is close enough.”
“Found a couch dupe that gives the same look without the designer price.”
Origin and spread
This product sense is a clipping of duplicate. The available record shows it circulating in online beauty content by 2008, followed by directly documented beauty-blog use in 2009. Beauty forums, blogs, and YouTube helped establish dupe for drugstore alternatives to high-end makeup during the late 2000s and 2010s. In the early 2020s, TikTok expanded dupe culture beyond cosmetics into clothing, accessories, fragrances, furniture, and other consumer goods. This sense is separate from the older word dupe meaning a person who is fooled or the act of deceiving someone.[3][5]
How to use it
Dupe is informal and often approving: calling something a good dupe praises its value or similarity to the original. It does not promise identical ingredients, materials, durability, or performance. A legitimate dupe is generally sold under its own branding; an item that copies another company’s name or logo and pretends to be authentic is more accurately called a counterfeit. Sellers do not always respect that distinction, so extra care is appropriate with cosmetics, skincare, and other products where unknown ingredients may create safety risks.
Sources
- 1. The Philadelphia Inquirer — TikTok’s ‘dupe’ trend: ExplainedSupports: form, earliest documented use.
- 2. Nouveau Cheap — WOW! New Prestige stuff = Benefit/Mark/Tarte knock-offs!Supports: earliest documented use.
- 3. South China Morning Post — Are beauty dupes worth the hype?Supports: origin.
- 4. Vogue — Dupes are popular with Gen Z. Is this bad news for luxury fashion brands?Supports: meaning.
- 5. The Guardian — Counterfeit goes cool: high-end brands urged to embrace rise of #dupeSupports: origin, meaning.
