jest
[ jest ]
/ dʒɛst /
Save This Word!
noun
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
to deride or joke at; banter.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Origin of jest
1250–1300; Middle English; variant spelling of gest
synonym study for jest
1. See joke.
OTHER WORDS FROM jest
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use jest in a sentence
He was as whimsical and jestful as ever, but he was not happy.
Wieland; or The Transformation|Charles Brockden Brown
British Dictionary definitions for jest
jest
/ (dʒɛst) /
noun
something done or said for amusement; joke
a frivolous mood or attitude; playfulness; funto act in jest
a jeer or taunt
an object of derision; laughing stock; butt
verb
to act or speak in an amusing, teasing, or frivolous way; joke
to make fun of (a person or thing); scoff or mock
Derived forms of jest
jestful, adjectivejesting, adjective, nounjestingly, adverbWord Origin for jest
C13: variant of gest
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012