joke

[ johk ]

/ dʒoʊk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR joke ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

a matter that need not be taken very seriously; trifling matter: The loss was no joke.

something that does not present the expected challenge; something very easy: The test was a joke for the whole class.

practical joke.

verb (used without object), joked, jok·ing.

to speak or act in a playful or merry way: He was always joking with us.

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), joked, jok·ing.

to subject to jokes; make fun of; tease.

to obtain by joking: The comedian joked coins from the audience.

RELATED WORDS

jesting, amusing, facetious, funny

Nearby words

Origin of joke

First recorded in 1660–70, joke is from the Latin word jocus jest

SYNONYMS FOR joke

1. wisecrack, gag, jape, prank, quip, quirk, sally, raillery. 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.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR joke ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

joke·less, adjectivejok·ing·ly, adverbhalf-jok·ing, adjectivehalf-jok·ing·ly, adverb

un·jok·ing, adjectiveun·jok·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for joking

At first, she thought he was just joking around, but soon, Mulvehill was scaring her, according to the report.
School Shooters Love This Pickup Artist Website|Brandy Zadrozny|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All joking aside, what was once considered an expensive gimmick is on the verge of going mainstream.
Welcome to Oculus XXX: In-Your-Face 3D is the Future of Porn|Aurora Snow|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The best celebrities understood that Rivers' joking wasn't personal, said Kotsiopoulos.
Melissa Rivers: Life After Joan—A Funny, Moving Celebration on a Special 'Fashion Police'|Tim Teeman|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At the end of that sequence, Johnny was joking around and said, “We should just put them to work and retire.”
Kevin Smith's Marijuanaissance: On 'Tusk,' 'Falling Out' with Ben Affleck, and 20 Years of 'Clerks'|Marlow Stern|September 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST

“A few bad shows, a few failures, and I could be sleeping on the street,” she once said, not joking.
Joan Rivers: 'Death Is Like Plastic Surgery'|Tim Teeman|September 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She looked at me with surprise, doubtless wondering if I was not joking.
Child of a Century, Complete|Alfred de Musset
For a moment she was under an impression that she had not heard Nelson aright, or else that he was joking.
Peggy Raymond's Way|Harriet Lummis Smith
Not that I think the professional mover expects to be addressed in a joking mood.
Suburban Sketches|William Dean Howells
There were women, children, old men, all joking there on the very spot where a man had just expired in the most supreme agony.
My Double Life|Sarah Bernhardt
But, joking aside, he does not know and you can scarcely guess the full companionship of my pipe these days.
The Jessica Letters: An Editor's Romance|Paul Elmer More

British Dictionary definitions for joking

joke

/ (dʒəʊk) /

noun

a humorous anecdote

something that is said or done for fun; prank

a ridiculous or humorous circumstance

a person or thing inspiring ridicule or amusement; butt

a matter to be joked about or ignored

joking apart seriously: said to recall a discussion to seriousness after there has been joking

no joke something very serious

verb

(intr) to tell jokes

(intr) to speak or act facetiously or in fun

to make fun of (someone); tease; kid

Derived Formsjokingly, adverb

Word Origin for joke

C17: from Latin jocus a jest

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

Word Origin and History for joking

joke

1660s, "to make a joke," from Latin iocari "to jest, joke," from iocus (see joke (n.)). Related: Joked; joking.

joke

1660s, joque, "a jest, something done to excite laughter," from Latin iocus "joke, sport, pastime," from PIE root *yek- "to speak" (cf. Breton iez "language," Old High German jehan "to say," German Beichte "confession").

Originally a colloquial or slang word. Meaning "something not to be taken seriously" is 1791. Practical joke "trick played on someone for the sake of a laugh at his expense" is from 1804 (earlier handicraft joke, 1741). Black joke is old slang for "smutty song" (1730s), from use of that phrase in the refrain of a then-popular song as a euphemism for "the monosyllable."

Idioms and Phrases with joking

joking

see all joking aside.

joke

see crack a joke; dirty joke; no joke; sick joke; standing joke; take a joke.

joke

noun

verb (used without object), joked, jok·ing.

verb (used with object), joked, jok·ing.

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of joke

Examples from the Web for joking

joke

noun

verb

Word Origin for joke

joke

joke

joking

joke