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practical joke

noun
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Definition of practical joke

: a prank intended to trick or embarrass someone or cause physical discomfort
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Other Words from practical joke

practical joker noun

Synonyms for practical joke

Synonyms

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Examples of practical joke in a Sentence

One of the children filled the sugar bowl with salt as a practical joke. friends had left the risqué message on his voice mail as a practical joke
Recent Examples on the Web That was the best practical joke ever played on me. — Tom Stienstra, San Francisco Chronicle, "Ten life-and-death moments in columnist Tom Stienstra’s 40 years in the outdoors," 30 June 2020 Detroit Free Press Will Dowell loves few things more than a good practical joke. — Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, "How Michigan State football's Dowell brothers hope to push each other, now into NFL," 24 Apr. 2020 The popular TikTok practical joke involves two pranksters encouraging a third person to leap into the air for a video, and when the person does so, kicking his or her legs from behind, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Thursday. — oregonlive, "Beaverton teen injured in skull-breaker challenge responds by launching website devoted to kindness," 21 Feb. 2020 Time reported that his pagoda expelled him over his penchant for practical jokes but later readmitted him. — Emily Langer, Washington Post, "Thich Tri Quang, Buddhist monk who wielded political might during Vietnam War, dies at 95," 13 Nov. 2019 Guests at Franklin's home were frequently recruited for his experiments and practical jokes. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "That time Benjamin Franklin tried (and failed) to electrocute a turkey," 28 Nov. 2019 Buss never minded being the butt of the players’ mocking or practical jokes, as long as everyone got a laugh out of it and got work in. — Paul Sullivan, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Cubs’ ‘life of the party’ is gone as strength coach Tim Buss joins Joe Maddon with the Angels," 1 Nov. 2019 George loved practical jokes, going to extreme lengths for the ultimate prank. — courant.com, "George A. Longtin," 26 Oct. 2019 Only then did Simon realize that Onassis had played a practical joke on her. — NBC News, "Carly Simon describes her deathbed farewell to Jackie Kennedy," 22 Oct. 2019

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

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First Known Use of practical joke

1776, in the meaning defined above

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Time Traveler for practical joke

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The first known use of practical joke was in 1776

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Statistics for practical joke

Last Updated

7 Jul 2020

Cite this Entry

“Practical joke.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/practical%20joke. Accessed 7 Jul. 2020.

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More Definitions for practical joke

practical joke

noun

English Language Learners Definition of practical joke

: a joke involving something that is done rather than said : a trick played on someone

See the full definition for practical joke in the English Language Learners Dictionary

practical joke

noun

Kids Definition of practical joke

: a joke involving an act rather than words : a trick played on someone

Other Words from practical joke

practical joker noun

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More from Merriam-Webster on practical joke

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for practical joke

Spanish Central: Translation of practical joke

Nglish: Translation of practical joke for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about practical joke

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