- 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.
The paper's cartoon has also homed in on skyrocketing fuel costs, joking that staff at the pump "don't care what diesel cost when you started driving".
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
He renamed the company Martin Defense Group after himself, joking that it would simplify his future takeover of Lockheed Martin.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
Laura Dern and Greta Gerwig laughed together by the entrance while Samuel L. Jackson plopped down on a curved bench, joking, “Hey, look what I did!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
“I was joking around, but people here take it absolutely serious.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
Dad takes a big breath and exhales deeply, relieved that we were only joking.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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.
