From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Mopery /ˌmoʊ pʊˈriː/ is a vague, informal name for minor offenses. The word is based on the verb to mope, which originally meant “to wander aimlessly”; it only later acquired the sense to be bored and depressed. The word mope appears to have first been used in the 16th century, and appears in Shakespeare's works.