- present participle of joke.
joking
IdiomsExplanation
You can describe something that's funny, lighthearted, or flippant as joking. A joking manner can be a good quality in a kids' dentist and a not-so-good quality in a funeral director. A joking birthday card might tease the recipient about his advanced age, and a joking tone in an interviewer's voice keeps the mood light and playful. When you're in a joking mood, you're full of good humor. At the heart of the adjective joking is joke, originally joque, from the Latin 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.
People have stopped joking because with AI, there are no jokes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
But, joking aside, he emphasizes that some of these diseases can be very serious, causing encephalitis, neurological impairment, and death.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
The three were smiling and joking, seemingly unaware of any impending attack, the images indicate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
“We’re not going to allow it to go back out again,” library manager Michelle Hudson said, joking that staff did not want to wait another 150 years for its next return.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
I thought she was joking until she repeatedly corrected me.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
