: trick:
a
obsolete
: a malicious act
b
: a mildly mischievous act
He enjoys playing/pulling pranks on his friends.
c
: a ludicrous act
pranked; pranking
1
transitive
: to play a trick or prank on (someone)
… you feel shock, dismay, then anger as it dawns on you that you've been pranked …—
Lucius Shepard
Lucius ShepardOn the day of the ceremony, a stuntwoman pal, dressed to look like Swanson, kicked things off by pranking the audience and falling down a flight of stairs. (The crowd went from gasping to laughing once the ruse was revealed.)—Lorenzo Benet
Lorenzo Benet2
pranked; pranking; pranks
: to show oneself off
: to dress or adorn gaily or showily
Examples of prank in a Sentence
Noun
He enjoys playing pranks on his friends.
as a prank, several students managed to change all the classroom clocks to different times
Recent Examples on the Web
Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 1 Jan. 2026
As longtime fans of the two may recall, the prank first started in 2004, when Rudd appeared on Late Night With Conan O’Brien to promote the then-upcoming series finale of Friends.
—Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Dec. 2025
Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 4 Jan. 2026
Hoping that Paul Rudd never stops pranking Conan O’Brienwith this long-running gag.
—Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 30 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prank
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Noun
CrowdStrike senior vice president of counter adversary Adam Meyers told Fortune these techniques have been honed after years of escalating pranks in video game spaces.
—Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 1 Jan. 2026
As longtime fans of the two may recall, the prank first started in 2004, when Rudd appeared on Late Night With Conan O’Brien to promote the then-upcoming series finale of Friends.
—Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Dec. 2025
Verb
Mel initially thought her sister might have been pranking her before becoming nauseous at the thought that her own brother was behind the murders of four college students.
—Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 4 Jan. 2026
Hoping that Paul Rudd never stops pranking Conan O’Brienwith this long-running gag.
—Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 30 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prank
Cite this Entry
“Prank.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prank. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
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