taunt B2 Topic:Describing People US /tɔnt/ UK /tɔːnt/ See IPA manual Freq #23214 Meanings 1 verb To say cruel or mocking things to someone to upset or provoke them. The older boys taunted him about his old shoes. 2 noun A cruel or mocking remark meant to upset someone. He ignored the taunts of the crowd and kept playing. Thesaurus Word family Forms tauntedtauntingtauntinglytaunts Etymology AI details Compare Old French tant (“so great”), French tant (“so much”), Latin tantus (“of such size, so great, so much”). See ataunt. tant Old French tantus Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Describing People External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # taunt **Type:** Word **Level:** B2 **Part of speech:** verb, noun **IPA (US):** /tɔnt/ **IPA (UK):** /tɔːnt/ **Frequency rank:** 23214 ## Meanings 1. To say cruel or mocking things to someone to upset or provoke them. 2. A cruel or mocking remark meant to upset someone. ## Examples - The older boys taunted him about his old shoes. - He ignored the taunts of the crowd and kept playing. ## Roots and Affixes - Root: tant - Root: tantus ## Etymology Compare Old French tant (“so great”), French tant (“so much”), Latin tantus (“of such size, so great, so much”). See ataunt. ## AI Etymology Taunt Compare Old French tant (“so great”), French tant (“so much”), Latin tantus (“of such size, so great, so much”). See ataunt. In present-day use, it can mean to say cruel or mocking things to someone to upset or provoke them, or a cruel or mocking remark meant to upset someone. ## Topics - Describing People markdown