joke
Americannoun
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jokes
plural
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something said or done to provoke laughter or cause amusement, as a witticism, a short and amusing anecdote, or a prankish act.
He tells very funny jokes. She played a joke on him.
-
something that is amusing or ridiculous, especially because of being ludicrously inadequate or a sham; a thing, situation, or person laughed at rather than taken seriously; farce.
Their pretense of generosity is a joke. An officer with no ability to command is a joke.
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a matter that need not be taken very seriously; trifling matter.
The loss was no joke.
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something that does not present the expected challenge; something very easy.
The test was a joke for the whole class.
verb (used without object)
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jokes,
present (3rd person singular)
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joked,
past participle, past
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joking
present participle
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to speak or act in a playful or merry way.
He was always joking with us.
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to say something in fun or teasing rather than in earnest; be facetious.
He didn't really mean it, he was only joking.
verb (used with object)
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jokes,
present (3rd person singular)
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joked,
past participle, past
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joking
present participle
-
to subject to jokes; make fun of; tease.
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to obtain by joking.
The comedian joked coins from the audience.
noun
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a humorous anecdote
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something that is said or done for fun; prank
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a ridiculous or humorous circumstance
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a person or thing inspiring ridicule or amusement; butt
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a matter to be joked about or ignored
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seriously: said to recall a discussion to seriousness after there has been joking
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something very serious
verb
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(intr) to tell jokes
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(intr) to speak or act facetiously or in fun
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to make fun of (someone); tease; kid
Synonym Usage
Joke, jest refer to something said (or done) in sport, or to cause amusement. A joke is something said or done for the sake of exciting laughter; it may be raillery, a witty remark, or a prank or trick: to tell a joke. Jest, today a more formal word, nearly always refers to joking language and is more suggestive of scoffing or ridicule than is joke : to speak in jest.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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half-jokingadjective
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jokelessadjective
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unjokingadjective
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half-jokinglyadverb
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jokinglyadverb
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unjokinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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jokesimple
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jokessimple
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have jokedperfect
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has jokedperfect
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am jokingprogressive
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are jokingprogressive
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is jokingprogressive
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have been jokingperfect progressive
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has been jokingperfect progressive
Past
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jokedsimple
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had jokedperfect
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was jokingprogressive
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were jokingprogressive
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had been jokingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of joke
First recorded in 1660–70, joke is from the Latin word jocus “jest”
Explanation
A joke is a funny story or line that's meant to make people laugh. When you're good at telling jokes, you're the life of the party (and you're probably not telling knock-knock jokes). Many jokes have a "punch line," the part that either makes your listeners guffaw or groan, depending on how funny it is. The rest of the joke leads up to this climax. Another kind of joke is the "practical" sort, a prank, gag, or trick you play on someone. In the 1660s the word was spelled joque and was considered slang. It comes from the Latin root iocus, "joke, sport, or pastime."
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.
See Examples For:
Yet Mr. Kean seems at times a little too eager to prove that “The Museum of Lost Things” isn’t a traditional history book, salting his otherwise sturdy prose with the occasional vulgarity or glib joke.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
I start with the thought, and if I can get a joke, a one liner out of the thought, that’s then I start to explore it onstage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
The team are a little frustrated by this, even if they joke about it.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
I can listen, I can build, I can take you on a journey, I can make you think this is a bad joke, but it’s actually a good joke.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
I pictured them laughing over a joke or sitting down to enjoy a root beer.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
With a lot of these jokes it’s like dribbling a football, you just don’t know where it’s going to land.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
He played the role with honesty and accessibility, cracking jokes as a teen whose health condition was never mentioned in the series.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Long before the chain became associated with this summer’s cyclospora outbreak, the Bell reliably served as a stand-in for jokes about the perceived quality of fast food.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
While trying to distance himself from one person who shares his family name, when it comes to his actual family, Patel has plenty of jokes of being too close to them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
They can sing, dance, tell jokes and balance brooms.
From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney
Michael and I even joked: Best TV theme song is “Friends,” right?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
"I never jumped the turnstile either. Let the record state!" he joked.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
Erling’s team joked that it might’ve been my fault because I asked twice about it during the interview.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
He joked: "They were there all the time."
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
“I’m going to need a defibrillator,” I’d joked, because of course, I thought she was just teasing me.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
Social media is full of videos joking about middle-aged parents dropping everything when they hear a few notes from the game's familiar ocarina melodies.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
She later posted a photograph with her doppelganger, joking that the resemblance was "pure coincidence, not strategy".
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
Rojas joked — or maybe he was not joking — that everyone expects the Dodgers to win every game by 10 runs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
To access the trees, he had to climb over a barbed wire fence and use a small step, joking that he did not want to rip his trousers.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Dari looked at me as if he needed me to tell him whether she was joking.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
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