1
: a joking or mocking remark
a clever jest
2
a
: prank
b
: a ludicrous circumstance or incident
a proper jest, and never heard before, that Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth for costs and charges—William Shakespeare
3
a
: a frivolous mood or manner
—usually used with in
spoken in jest
b
: gaiety and merriment
I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of excellent fancy—William Shakespeare
4
jested; jesting
formal, dated
: to make jokes or jests : to say things intended to be humorous
"What's it like to design a building and have an apartment in it and have your name on it?" the architect asks, jesting, with his typically irrepressible energy. "It's like a hat trick."—Philip Nobel
You voted for him? Surely you jest. [=you must be joking]
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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