in-joke

noun

ˈin-ˌjōk How to pronounce in-joke (audio)
-ˈjōk
: a joke for or about a select group of people

Examples of in-joke in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web This is because Base’s near-instant transactions and extremely low fees make trading these assets – which have evolved from in-jokes to become crucial entry points to the world of Web3 – more attractive than on virtually any other network. Sandy Carter, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024 The German script, heavy on wordplay and puns, loses a bit in translation but Spieler, made two years before Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, remains a post-modern gem full of in-joke references for the genre cinephile. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Sep. 2024 Some of the film’s winking references are more esoteric than others, and a lot of wordplay and in-jokes are potentially lost on a non-Japanese audience: some of them are, according to the subtitles on my copy, basically untranslatable. Kambole Campbell, IndieWire, 15 Aug. 2024 Situating their work somewhere between neo-Dada and Pop Art’s poke at the high-art citadel, Arneson and his colleagues shamelessly embraced amateurish craftsmanship, in-jokes, put-ons and quirky narratives. Patricia Failing, ARTnews.com, 29 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for in-joke 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'in-joke.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1964, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of in-joke was in 1964

Dictionary Entries Near in-joke

Cite this Entry

“In-joke.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/in-joke. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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