prank
1[ prangk ]
/ præŋk /
Save This Word!
noun
a trick of an amusing, playful, or sometimes malicious nature.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON THE MANY TYPES OF NOUNS
They're everywhere you turn, but can you identify the 10 types of nouns easily? This quiz will test your mettle against singular, plural, concrete, abstract, common, proper, collective, compound, countable, and uncountable nouns!
Question 1 of 7
Shoelaces, rainbow, toothpaste, and haircuts are all what type of noun?
Meet Grammar Coach
Improve Your Writing
Origin of prank
1First recorded in 1520–30; origin uncertain
Definition for prank (2 of 2)
prank2
[ prangk ]
/ præŋk /
verb (used with object)
to dress or adorn in an ostentatious manner: They were all pranked out in their fanciest clothes.
verb (used without object)
to make an ostentatious show or display.
Origin of prank
21540–50; akin to Dutch pronken to show off, strut, pronk show, finery, Middle Low German prank pomp
OTHER WORDS FROM prank
un·pranked, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for prank
British Dictionary definitions for prank (1 of 2)
prank1
/ (præŋk) /
noun
a mischievous trick or joke, esp one in which something is done rather than said
Derived forms of prank
prankish, adjectiveWord Origin for prank
C16: of unknown origin
British Dictionary definitions for prank (2 of 2)
prank2
/ (præŋk) /
verb
(tr) to dress or decorate showily or gaudily
(intr) to make an ostentatious display
Word Origin for prank
C16: from Middle Dutch pronken; related to German Prunk splendour, prangen to be in full splendour
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