1
a
: something said or done to provoke laughter
especially
: a brief oral narrative with a climactic humorous twist
b(1)
: the humorous or ridiculous element in something
(2)
: an instance of jesting : kidding
can't take a joke
c
d
2
: something not to be taken seriously : a trifling matter
consider his skiing a joke—
Harold Callender
—often used in negative constructionsHarold Callenderit is no joke to be lost in the desert
Synonyms
Examples of joke in a Sentence
Noun
She meant it as a joke, but many people took her seriously.
They played a harmless joke on him.
They are always making jokes about his car.
I heard a funny joke yesterday.
the punch line of a joke
I didn't get the joke.
That exam was a joke.
Their product became a joke in the industry.
He's in danger of becoming a national joke.
Verb
My friends would joke about the uniform I had to wear at work.
She joked about the possibility of losing her job.
I thought he was joking when he said he might quit, but it turned out that he really meant it.
Don't take it seriously: I was only joking.
She spent a few minutes joking with reporters after giving her speech.
She joked that she could always get work as a truck driver if she lost her job.
Recent Examples on the WebDaniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Apr. 2024
The clothing might be exaggerated, but what the genre does lay bare is the thin line between trying too hard and becoming the butt of the joke: being stylish and fashionable are not the same thing.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 17 Apr. 2024
This is not a joke — at least not to the leaders of NBC Universal and a small army of NBC Sports producers hunkered down at offices in Stamford, Conn., and Paris, France.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 17 Apr. 2024
For instance, visitors to the Budapest Retro Museum, which opened in 2021, can pick up the receiver of an old pay phone and dial a number to hear a typical communist-era joke, in which infamous Soviet leader Joseph Stalin visits a potato farm.
—Alice Popovici, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024
The joke’s punchline lies in its nicheness: Glycine is an amino acid product used in industrial quantities to produce pesticides, among other uses, and most people do not need to source it regularly.
—Lyric Li, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024
One of his friends joke about how the shades were indicative of his superstar status.
—C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
But the damsel isn’t in distress, the monster isn’t so bad, and some raunchy jokes may go over kids’ heads (but will likely delight parents).
—Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 16 Apr. 2024
But on April 1, the brand announced that XO Cafe was coming back for a limited time—and no, this was definitely not an April Fool’s joke.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024
Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 11 Apr. 2024
Between songs, Sparhawk joked about the band being willing to play weddings and bar mitzvahs—any gig that paid.
—Justin Taylor, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2024
Roth joked about recommending strange arthouse movies to Greenblatt, including My Dinner With André and Andy Warhol’s Empire State Building film Empire, to the befuddlement of other cast members.
—Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
Wallen then joked that his record is only temporary.
—Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024
His friends have long joked about his wearing rumpled suits or a Boy Scout outfit on a date.
—Michael Rothfeld Emily Woo Zeller Krish Seenivasan David Mason, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
Bostonians often joke that the city's many winding, one-way streets were adapted from colonial-era cow paths—routes literally created by livestock—that long predate the automobile.
—Todd Plummer, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Apr. 2024
Those on the West Coast, who have more experience with earthquakes, joked about East Coasters' first time experiencing a seismic event.
—Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 5 Apr. 2024
Chad Deutsch, in accepting for Toyota, joked that this may be the only time that Prius would compete against Ferrari and win.
—Scotty Reiss, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Noun
Sure, that might be a layer of the humor at times, but the host is careful to situate himself and his own discomfort as the real target of the joke.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Apr. 2024
The clothing might be exaggerated, but what the genre does lay bare is the thin line between trying too hard and becoming the butt of the joke: being stylish and fashionable are not the same thing.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 17 Apr. 2024
This is not a joke — at least not to the leaders of NBC Universal and a small army of NBC Sports producers hunkered down at offices in Stamford, Conn., and Paris, France.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 17 Apr. 2024
For instance, visitors to the Budapest Retro Museum, which opened in 2021, can pick up the receiver of an old pay phone and dial a number to hear a typical communist-era joke, in which infamous Soviet leader Joseph Stalin visits a potato farm.
—Alice Popovici, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024
The joke’s punchline lies in its nicheness: Glycine is an amino acid product used in industrial quantities to produce pesticides, among other uses, and most people do not need to source it regularly.
—Lyric Li, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024
One of his friends joke about how the shades were indicative of his superstar status.
—C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
But the damsel isn’t in distress, the monster isn’t so bad, and some raunchy jokes may go over kids’ heads (but will likely delight parents).
—Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 16 Apr. 2024
But on April 1, the brand announced that XO Cafe was coming back for a limited time—and no, this was definitely not an April Fool’s joke.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024
Verb
Some people joked that purple laser zaps extraterrestrial creatures in the eye while others took a mathematical approach to their inference.
—Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 11 Apr. 2024
Between songs, Sparhawk joked about the band being willing to play weddings and bar mitzvahs—any gig that paid.
—Justin Taylor, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2024
Roth joked about recommending strange arthouse movies to Greenblatt, including My Dinner With André and Andy Warhol’s Empire State Building film Empire, to the befuddlement of other cast members.
—Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
Wallen then joked that his record is only temporary.
—Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024
His friends have long joked about his wearing rumpled suits or a Boy Scout outfit on a date.
—Michael Rothfeld Emily Woo Zeller Krish Seenivasan David Mason, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
Bostonians often joke that the city's many winding, one-way streets were adapted from colonial-era cow paths—routes literally created by livestock—that long predate the automobile.
—Todd Plummer, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Apr. 2024
Those on the West Coast, who have more experience with earthquakes, joked about East Coasters' first time experiencing a seismic event.
—Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 5 Apr. 2024
Chad Deutsch, in accepting for Toyota, joked that this may be the only time that Prius would compete against Ferrari and win.
—Scotty Reiss, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'joke.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near joke
Cite this Entry
“Joke.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/joke. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
joke
1 of 2 noun1
a
: something said or done to cause laughter
especially
: a brief story with a humorous twist
b
: the humorous element in something
c
: good-natured kidding
can't take a joke
2
: something not to be taken seriously
that exam was a joke
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