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 That provides a winking in-joke for domestic audiences in his casting here as another shrink, Celeste, the title character’s despondent father, who generally has his head too deep in books to look at life. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2023 Stephanie Hsu plays the woman and Crazy Rich Asians‘ Ronny Chieng plays the husband makes the in-joke that much funnier. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 3 Aug. 2023 Or the in-joke nod to Beetlejuice, a comparative reference which does this movie zero favors. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 26 July 2023 To live here is to be in a never-ending conspiratorial conversation, with weird asides, in-jokes, unsolicited advice and unanticipated encouragement. Dodai Stewart, New York Times, 26 June 2023 Yes, there are in-jokes and references to how this timeline differs from ours, along with Easter eggs, some cat’s-out-the-bag cameos courtesy of a crisis on infinite earths, and a few secrets that are best kept as secrets. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 June 2023 Fewer still will have the PhD-level familiarity with his filmography to appreciate all the in-jokes to his oeuvre, which builds to a feel-good reunion of actors from the real-life Moretti’s previous movies. Peter Debruge, Variety, 24 May 2023 Perhaps that mall entrance was a little in-joke? John Kelly, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2023 The title of the first full-length boygenius album, like many aspects of the band’s fledgling lore, is a playful little in-joke that functions as both a wink and a provocation. Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2023 See More

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 25 Sep. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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