joke
Americannoun
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jokes
plural
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something said or done to provoke laughter or cause amusement, as a witticism, a short and amusing anecdote, or a prankish act.
He tells very funny jokes. She played a joke on him.
-
something that is amusing or ridiculous, especially because of being ludicrously inadequate or a sham; a thing, situation, or person laughed at rather than taken seriously; farce.
Their pretense of generosity is a joke. An officer with no ability to command is a joke.
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a matter that need not be taken very seriously; trifling matter.
The loss was no joke.
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something that does not present the expected challenge; something very easy.
The test was a joke for the whole class.
verb (used without object)
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jokes,
present (3rd person singular)
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joked,
past participle, past
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joking
present participle
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to speak or act in a playful or merry way.
He was always joking with us.
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to say something in fun or teasing rather than in earnest; be facetious.
He didn't really mean it, he was only joking.
verb (used with object)
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jokes,
present (3rd person singular)
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joked,
past participle, past
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joking
present participle
-
to subject to jokes; make fun of; tease.
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to obtain by joking.
The comedian joked coins from the audience.
noun
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a humorous anecdote
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something that is said or done for fun; prank
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a ridiculous or humorous circumstance
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a person or thing inspiring ridicule or amusement; butt
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a matter to be joked about or ignored
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seriously: said to recall a discussion to seriousness after there has been joking
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something very serious
verb
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(intr) to tell jokes
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(intr) to speak or act facetiously or in fun
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to make fun of (someone); tease; kid
Synonym Usage
Joke, jest refer to something said (or done) in sport, or to cause amusement. A joke is something said or done for the sake of exciting laughter; it may be raillery, a witty remark, or a prank or trick: to tell a joke. Jest, today a more formal word, nearly always refers to joking language and is more suggestive of scoffing or ridicule than is joke : to speak in jest.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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half-jokingadjective
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jokelessadjective
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unjokingadjective
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half-jokinglyadverb
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jokinglyadverb
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unjokinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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jokesimple
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jokessimple
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have jokedperfect
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has jokedperfect
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am jokingprogressive
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are jokingprogressive
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is jokingprogressive
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have been jokingperfect progressive
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has been jokingperfect progressive
Past
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jokedsimple
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had jokedperfect
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was jokingprogressive
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were jokingprogressive
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had been jokingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of joke
First recorded in 1660–70, joke is from the Latin word jocus “jest”
Explanation
A joke is a funny story or line that's meant to make people laugh. When you're good at telling jokes, you're the life of the party (and you're probably not telling knock-knock jokes). Many jokes have a "punch line," the part that either makes your listeners guffaw or groan, depending on how funny it is. The rest of the joke leads up to this climax. Another kind of joke is the "practical" sort, a prank, gag, or trick you play on someone. In the 1660s the word was spelled joque and was considered slang. It comes from the Latin root iocus, "joke, sport, or pastime."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She fancies it a joke to get the townspeople off her back, rubbing their traditions back in their faces.
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026
It’s an old joke, told most often about the French, but the idea of crisis in everything, everywhere, all at once is so pervasive that it seems we have become a humorless parody of ourselves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
That’s when I understood that our joke about their spending and our saving may never have been entirely a joke.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 25, 2026
"The joke of Ali G is that he was a maximally clueless white-bro poseur," the review continued.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
The villagers thought it was a prank, a bad joke, but then the visitors unveiled the thing in the truck and set it before them.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
For some, it was a chance at redemption after years of weathering jokes about their accents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
Commenters seem amused by the apparent gaffe and have chosen to convey their feelings through a plethora of puns, jokes and memes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
But what he should be asking himself is whether the audience he’s going after with jokes like the ones Gillis made this past weekend is an audience he’d feel comfortable sitting in.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2026
The sign jokes that the sculpture is the "world's most famous singing bird automata!"
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
For not understanding that the time for jokes was over.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
“He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory,” Obama joked during a Cleveland rally.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026
At one point they joked that having us next door was better than a maintenance contract.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 25, 2026
“Some words, if I say it with the Boston accent, you might not even know what word I’m trying to say,” he joked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
People joked the council should "make an official ID for Bukangi and give a pension", Shin Seungmin said.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
"I think you hit him with too much ooh. Like...smells more like eww," Candace joked, curling her top lip up under her nostrils.
From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds
When she floated the idea that AI might solve it one day, the suggestion was so preposterous that he thought she was joking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026
Miller has also recorded a separate version of Babydoll with Off Campus star Antonio Cipriano, after initially joking about the idea on social media.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
He was something exciting and fresh when he pantsed the pop culture landscape in the late 1990s, but joking about how much everything sucks is a young man’s game.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026
Social media is full of videos joking about middle-aged parents dropping everything when they hear a few notes from the game's familiar ocarina melodies.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
She understood the words he was saying but thought he must be joking, playing a terrible joke on her and her brother and sister.
From "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket
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