jest

1 of 2

noun

ˈjest 

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

: laughingstock

jest

2 of 2

verb

jested; jesting

intransitive verb

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]

Synonyms

Noun

• fun
• play
• game
• sport

Verb

• joke

Choose the Right Synonym for jest

fun, jest, sport, game, play mean action or speech that provides amusement or arouses laughter.

fun usually implies laughter or gaiety but may imply merely a lack of serious or ulterior purpose.

played cards just for fun

jest implies lack of earnestness and may suggest a hoaxing or teasing.

hurt by remarks said only in jest

sport applies especially to the arousing of laughter against someone.

teasing begun in sport led to anger

game is close to sport, and often stresses mischievous or malicious fun.

made game of their poor relations

play stresses the opposition to earnest without implying any malice or mischief.

pretended to strangle his brother in play

Examples of jest in a Sentence

Noun

It was a harmless jest.

you should know that our teasing was done entirely in jest

Verb

when I asked my sister for a loan, she laughingly replied, "Surely you jest!"

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Vance’s remarks, while taken in jest, fell flat in a room filled with experts more keenly aware than most of the challenges facing travel in the Trump era. —Michael Wilner, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2025

Others are posting videos about how to recession-proof your life, from starting a garden to cheap meal ideas — all in varying degrees of jest. —Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 4 May 2025

Verb

And his sense of humor douses jest over images that probably shouldn’t be funny. —Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 29 May 2025

The big picture: Parody accounts from Mount Rainier and Mount Hood are trading playful taunts and humorous one-upmanship, comparing body counts and jesting about whether size matters. —Christine Clarridge, Axios, 28 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English gest, geste, jeste "chivalric romance, tale, heroic deed, exploit, action, amusement," borrowed from Anglo-French geste "heroic deed, romance, tale," borrowed from Latin gesta "deeds, exploits," plural of gestum "something carried out," noun derivative from neuter of gestus, past participle of gerere "to carry, bear, conduct one's business, act, perform, do," from a verb stem ges- of uncertain origin

Note: The current senses of jest date from the 16th century. The Latin verb stem ges- is without evident Indo-European congeners. An old suggestion that it derives from *h₂ǵ-es-, an extended form containing the zero grade of *h₂eǵ- "drive" (see agent) has been revived (as, for example, by Michiel de Vaan in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italic Languages, Brill, 2008; the original suggestion was by Hermann Osthoff in Beiträge zur Kunde der indogermanischen Sprachen, Band 19 [1893], pp. 320-22.) Parallel formations adduced by Osthoff are, however, questionable, as *u̯es- (see wear entry 1) from *eu̯- "put on (footwear)," not possible if the root is actually *h₂eu̯(H)- (see exuviae). Latin ger- is unlikely to have any relation to Old Norse kǫr "heap, pile," kǫstr "pile," kasta "to throw, fling" (see cast entry 1).

Verb

Middle English gesten "to recite romances," derivative of geste "chivalric romance, tale" — more at jest entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1553, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing jest

• in jest
• Surely you jest

Rhymes for jest

• blessed
• blest
• breast
• chest
• crest
• dressed
• fest
• gest
• geste
• guessed
• lest
• messed

Kids Definition

jest

noun

ˈjest 

1

: a comic act or remark : joke

2

: a playful mood or manner

spoken in jest

jest verb formal