jape

American  

[jeyp] / dʒeɪp /

verb (used without object)

japed, japing

1. to jest; joke; gibe.

---

verb (used with object)

japed, japing

1. to mock or make fun of.

noun

1. a joke; jest; quip.

2. a trick or practical joke.

jape British  

/ dʒeɪp /

noun

1. a jest or joke

---

verb

1. to joke or jest (about)

Other Word Forms

• japer noun
• japery noun
• japingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of jape

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English japen, perhaps from Old French jap(p)er “to bark,” of imitative origin

Example Sentences

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

Consider the picture well and truly painted of a man who can’t quite reconcile his new clean godly lifestyle with his innate need to jape.

From The Guardian • Apr. 4, 2019

In any case, this gory, frenetic jape is less interested in quibbling over semantics than in signaling its own insouciant self-awareness.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 12, 2018

The memory of the fool's jape made Tyrion smile.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin