joke

noun \ ˈjōk \

|Updated on: 7 Jun 2018

Examples: joke in a Sentence

Definition of joke

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 : practical joke

d : laughingstock

2 : something not to be taken seriously : a trifling matter

consider his skiing a joke
—Harold Callender

—often used in negative constructions

it is no joke to be lost in the desert

See joke defined for English-language learners

See joke defined for kids

Examples of joke in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of joke from the Web

Dean will be forever remembered by his contagious smile, silly jokes, huge heart, kindness and outgoing personality, which are just a few of his endearing qualities.

— hartford courant, courant.com, "Dean Bordonaro," 2 June 2018
However, almost no one got the joke, and especially not in Trump country.

— maria puente, USA TODAY, "Kathy Griffin defends Samantha Bee with long Twitter account of her own tangle with Trump," 1 June 2018
Ryan Reynold’s Wade Wilson aka Deadpool is as wisecracky as ever, and some of the franchise’s meta jokes, like its swipes at the DC Comics movies, or Wolverine, hit the target.

— peter rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, "'Deadpool 2' is a wisecracking, chaotically staged action romp," 18 May 2018
Pitkin residents then took to Facebook to share photos, jokes, and updates about the state of the post office and its intruder.

— CBS News, "Bear breaks into Colorado post office, photo goes viral," 18 May 2018
That hasn't dampened the fact that this is a Deadpool-caliber sequel, with gross gags, juvenile jokes, and cutting sarcasm for days.

— sam machkovech, Ars Technica, "Deadpool 2 review: Not better, but still enough bloody fun for series fans," 17 May 2018
Stand-up comics joke about dead strippers and dead hookers, the most disposable humans of all.

— sascha cohen, SELF, "I Felt Like I Deserved My Breast Cancer," 17 May 2018
Fans were quick with the jokes, such as using Mrs. Puff's catchphrase against her.

— stacey grant, Seventeen, "We've Apparently Known Who "Riverdale"'s Black Hood Was All Along," 15 May 2018
Bush responded with vintage Dubya: self-deprecating jokes, references to his mom and dad, and highlighting the importance of global diplomacy - specifically his administration's work on the AIDS crisis.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "Donald Trump may be best thing that ever happened to George W. Bush," 13 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'joke.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of joke

Latin jocus; perhaps akin to Old High German gehan to say, Sanskrit yācati he asks

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1670

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

joke Synonyms

Synonyms

crack, drollery, funny, gag, jape, jest, laugh, one-liner, pleasantry, quip, rib, sally, waggery, wisecrack, witticism;

Related Words

funning, joking, wisecracking;

panic [slang], riot, scream;

antic, buffoonery, caper, monkeyshine(s), practical joke, prank, trick;

burlesque, caricature, lampoon, mock, mockery, parody, put-on, riff;

comedy, humor, wit, wordplay;

joke

verb

Definition of joke

joked; joking

intransitive verb

: to make jokes : jest

transitive verb

: to make the object of a joke : kid

—

jokingly

play \ˈjō-kiŋ-lē\ adverb

See joke defined for English-language learners

Examples of joke in a Sentence

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.