jape
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a joke; jest; quip.
-
a trick or practical joke.
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
japesimple
-
japessimple
-
have japedperfect
-
has japedperfect
-
am japingprogressive
-
are japingprogressive
-
is japingprogressive
-
have been japingperfect progressive
-
has been japingperfect progressive
Past
-
japedsimple
-
had japedperfect
-
was japingprogressive
-
were japingprogressive
-
had been japingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jape
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English japen, perhaps from Old French jap(p)er “to bark,” of imitative origin
Explanation
A jape is a joke. The highlight of your family get-togethers might be your funny uncle's japes. You can tell a jape, or play a jape — or a practical joke — on someone. An older sister might tell her little brother, "I'm not interested in your silly childish japes" when he shows her his whoopie cushion, for example. You could also say that you love your annual holiday party at work, because instead of the usual stress, it's all laughing and japes. The word jape most likely comes from the Old French verb japer, "to howl, bawl, or scream."
Vocabulary lists containing jape
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.
McDonald and Jim Youngren came up with the billboard as a jape on the prevailing national image of Seattle in the wake of the Boeing bust.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 9, 2021
Yes, there is a jape about polyphasic sleep.
From The Verge • Feb. 26, 2020
How much of it are we meant to read as thinly veiled auto-critique versus a wickedly funny jape?
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 1, 2018
Morkel initially claims he touched it, so thus umpire Tucker goes upstairs for the run-out, but then the big bowler reveals he was joking - a jape!
From The Guardian • Jan. 15, 2016
Some jape about the smell of freedom, he guessed.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
