joker

American  

[joh-ker] / ˈdʒoʊ kər /

noun

• jokers
  plural

1. a person who jokes.

2. one of two extra playing cards in a pack, usually imprinted with the figure of a jester, used in some games as the highest card or as a wild card.

3. U.S. Politics. a clause or expression inserted in a legislative bill with the unavowed object of defeating the ostensible purpose of the bill if passed.

4. a seemingly minor, unsuspected clause or wording that is put into an agreement, legal document, etc., to change its effect.

5. an unexpected or final fact, factor, or condition that changes or reverses a situation or result completely.

   He gave her a beautiful diamond engagement ring, but the joker was that it was stolen!

6. any method, trick, or expedient for getting the better of another.

   They pulled a joker on us to get better seats.

7. Informal. a man; fellow; chap.

   That joker is earning twice as much as I am.

8. a person who thinks they are very funny; prankster.

   Who's the joker who frosted the cake with shaving cream?

9. Informal. a wise guy; wiseacre; smart aleck.

   Tell that joker to stop using my parking space.

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joker British  

/ ˈdʒəʊkə /

noun

1. a person who jokes, esp in an obnoxious manner

2. slang a person

   who does that joker think he is?

3. an extra playing card in a pack, which in many card games can substitute for or rank above any other card

4. a clause or phrase inserted in a legislative bill in order to make the bill inoperative or to alter its apparent effect

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• jokers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of joker

First recorded in 1720–30; joke + -er ¹

Explanation

A joker is someone who loves jokes, and tells them all the time. Jokers are usually harmless, unless you meet up with Batman's archenemy, "The Joker." He's no joke. A joke-teller or practical joke-player is one kind of joker, but you can also use this word when you're annoyed with someone who's acting ridiculous or foolish: "That joker in the convertible just ran a red light!" Card players might be more familiar with the jokers you find in a full deck, the extra cards that are either used as wild cards or removed when you play a game.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

joker jokers

"His friends laughed because the shooter was a known joker," Palencia told the news agency.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Against Portugal in the previous round, 30-year-old midfielder Mikel Merino had proven himself as the joker in La Roja’s pack by scoring the winner in stoppage time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Michael Jackson’s estate could’ve existed in this gray area forevermore, letting his memory hover somewhere between genius and joker.

From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2026

The joker in the global fixed-income deck is the possibility that the Fed could reverse a dovish trajectory to raise rates again in response to war-related inflationary pressures, Al-Hussainy adds.

From Barron's ● Apr. 20, 2026

Todd was a joker, and he’d had a run-in or two with the law, so even in the back of a military van he seemed amused.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

American mahjong, nationalized by Jewish women, adds eight jokers, an elaborate tile-trading process called “the Charleston” and a dizzying card that changes annually and lists 70-odd winning lines—which can produce more than 1,000 combinations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

Because I know you're one of the jokers in the dressing room as well.

From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2025

Each “Housewives” series is a rickety house of cards, just waiting for a dramatic gust of wind to implode its structure so it can be rebuilt with the queens and jokers in a different place.

From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2025

Most of these jokers she interviews on the field, whether they shoot her straight, or give her the runaround, appreciate the inherent warmness she’s shown over the years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 7, 2024

There are no bigger jokers in Chokecherry than Jordie, Pouncey, and me—with the girls as backup.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman