practical joke

American  

noun

• practical jokes
  plural

1. a playful trick, often involving some physical agent or means, in which the victim is placed in an embarrassing or disadvantageous position.

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practical joke British  

noun

1. a prank or trick usually intended to make the victim appear foolish

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• practical joker
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• practical jokes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of practical joke

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

practical joke

The five Georgia teens whose teacher died during a fatal practical joke will not be prosecuted in the educator's death, the district attorney has said.

From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026

The con job was, he thinks, “no more than a practical joke, really. Good clean sport.”

From New York Times ● Apr. 8, 2024

Was it all some kind of practical joke?

From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2023

It's almost as if McCarthy was playing some kind of elaborate practical joke.

From Salon ● Feb. 22, 2023

No doubt his surefire setting cure was a practical joke.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

Related Words

• prank