in-joke

American  

[in-johk] / ˈɪnˌdʒoʊk /

noun

1. a joke that can be understood or appreciated only by the members of a limited group of people.

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Etymology

Origin of in-joke

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

in-joke

She chose the name Freida as a medical in-joke - after a hospital training registry, the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database.

From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026

And Plemons, suddenly the new kid in class again, outside the in-joke despite his second film with these two, declares, “That’s the end of the interview.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2026

That's exactly why Kneecap’s two principal rappers, who go by the in-joke names Mo Chara and Móglai Bap, grew up in Irish-speaking families.

From Salon ● May 11, 2025

Or maybe it’s an in-joke, visual shorthand for powerful A.I. systems that seem suspiciously nice.

From New York Times ● May 30, 2023

We kept it going for years and years—it became a sort of in-joke, I suppose—and it all started from one particular lesson we had when we were pretty young.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro