joke

1 of 2

noun

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
2
: something not to be taken seriously : a trifling matter
consider his skiing a jokeHarold Callender
often used in negative constructions
it is no joke to be lost in the desert

joke

2 of 2

verb

joked; joking

transitive verb

: to make the object of a joke : kid
jokingly adverb

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
Noun
While hosting Saturday Night Live this past weekend, Sweeney, 26, made a joke in her opening monologue at the expense of the superhero movie. Benjamin Vanhoose, Peoplemag, 5 Mar. 2024 In a traditional welcome-aboard ceremony, station commander Andreas Mogensen (with microphone) jokes with the newly-arrived Crew 8 fliers (front row in blue flight suits, left to right): Jeanette Epps, cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, Mike Barratt and Crew Dragon commander Matthew Dominick. William Harwood, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2024 So as a joke, Rosen started hosting Instagram Lives with her son, Guy, to prepare lunch in a shorter time frame — and the rest is history. Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024 Musk was responding to a claim that went viral, suggesting that a Beverly Hills Hotel valet crashed the truck, which later turned out to be a joke by an X user. Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2024 Foster said Drexel Mack was part of a small department within the court — a staff of about 15 execution officers and seven clerical staff members — where coworkers were also feeling the pain of his sudden loss. ‘Always cracking jokes’ Hill also remembers that Drexel Mack was a big gamer. Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 2 Mar. 2024 The manager was in the mood for jokes a few hours later after notching his first win as Giants manager, 11-5, over Bruce Bochy’s Rangers before a strong crowd of 8,933 on hand to see the former San Francisco skipper inducted to the Cactus League Hall of Fame. Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 1 Mar. 2024 Whether meant as a joke or an attempt at sabotage, it unnerved staff. Lenora Chu, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Mar. 2024 The Willy Wonka Experience United The Internet In Laughter Disappointed children aside, the event has inspired a great deal of joy, sparking jokes, memes and fan edits of the underwhelming footage. Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Verb
O'Neal went on to joke that Jason will have plenty of time on his hands now, and needs to start helping out around the house. Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 6 Mar. 2024 That night, Pit informed the crowd in Raleigh, N.C., about their encounter and joked how the 78-year-old national treasure has something in common with his signature catchphrase. Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2024 For months, Biden has tried to joke his way out of voters’ concerns over his age — or worse, reacted angrily to questions about it. Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2024 But, as usual, the Comedy Central series found the funny in a serious topic and shifted to a joking war of regional insults between Michael Kosta, who is from Ann Arbor, and Jordan Klepper, who is from Kalamazoo. Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 1 Mar. 2024 Longoria and Dempster also joked about the Los Angeles Dodgers recent acquisition of Shohei Ohtani for a whopping $700 million. Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 1 Mar. 2024 Commenters joked about the event becoming a retroactive success as an internet punchline and encouraged Coull to stage it again. Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 1 Mar. 2024 Some joked Kate could be recovering from a cosmetic procedure known as a BBL, where fat is transferred from the stomach and thighs to the buttocks. Kaetlyn Liddy, NBC News, 29 Feb. 2024 The following year, after Carlson was fired from Fox News, the progressive watchdog Media Matters posted embarrassing behind-the-scenes footage of Carlson making crude remarks while joking with staff and denigrating the Fox Nation streaming service. Oliver Darcy, CNN, 22 Feb. 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.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

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

First Known Use

Noun

1670, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1670, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of joke was in 1670

Dictionary Entries Near joke

Cite this Entry

“Joke.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/joke. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

joke

1 of 2 noun
1
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

joke

2 of 2 verb
joked; joking
: to make jokes : jest
jokingly adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on joke

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