joke
noun
something said or done to provoke laughter or cause amusement, as a witticism, a short and amusing anecdote, or a prankish act.
had been joking
-
past perfect progressiveof joke.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Armstrong later clarified that he had been joking and hadn’t traded mentions on the call himself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026
Sheriff’s deputies interviewed Aiden, who told them he had been joking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2024
She says he messaged afterwards saying he was sorry and had been joking.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2022
But Fakler testified that she had been joking and had made the comments before homicide investigators told her that her husband may have been having an affair.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 5, 2021
Macon had been joking about making up for lost time, but in another way, that described exactly what she was doing.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
