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
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 Web
Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
In a video posted to 50 Cent’s Instagram, the mogul is seen making some jokes while aboard a private jet with Tony Yayo about leaving G-Unit.
—Mackenzie Cummings-Grady, Billboard, 28 Oct. 2025
Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 25 Oct. 2025
Most of the time, though, as joked by Kang and Kodos themselves, they are written into the show as background cameos or to simply narrate their observations from their spaceship, laughing at us, maniacally.
—Grace Dean, Space.com, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for joke
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Noun
Late-night hosts cracked jokes, memes proliferated on the internet, and Steve Carell even starred in a Netflix sitcom about the Star Trek–like operation.
—Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025
In a video posted to 50 Cent’s Instagram, the mogul is seen making some jokes while aboard a private jet with Tony Yayo about leaving G-Unit.
—Mackenzie Cummings-Grady, Billboard, 28 Oct. 2025
Verb
Schneider went on to joke about the gifts the Blue Jays presented him with at those meetings.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 25 Oct. 2025
Most of the time, though, as joked by Kang and Kodos themselves, they are written into the show as background cameos or to simply narrate their observations from their spaceship, laughing at us, maniacally.
—Grace Dean, Space.com, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for joke
Cite this Entry
“Joke.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/joke. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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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