1
as in joke
something said or done to cause laughter
the movie featured a gag involving a chicken driving a car that audiences thought was hysterically funny
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2
as in prank
a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke
played a gag on their teammate by putting shaving cream in his hat
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
2
3
as in to joke
to make jokes
the actor typically mugs and gags through his movies, but in his latest vehicle he plays it straight
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of gag
Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 24 Apr. 2026
Over Your Dead Body knows that sustaining a harmonious union amid petty jealousies, paranoia, and personal flaws is hard; navigating a hostage situation involving desperate sickos and sociopaths is even harder; and maintaining a balance of laughs and gag-reflex tweaking is the hardest of it all.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 Apr. 2026
Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2026
Don’t gag, don’t cry — and my stomach lurched.
—Kate Crane, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gag
Noun
Even the infamous moment when Frank dispatches Eddie (Harvey Guillén) with a chainsaw lands more like a gag than a shock.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 24 Apr. 2026
Over Your Dead Body knows that sustaining a harmonious union amid petty jealousies, paranoia, and personal flaws is hard; navigating a hostage situation involving desperate sickos and sociopaths is even harder; and maintaining a balance of laughs and gag-reflex tweaking is the hardest of it all.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 Apr. 2026
Verb
Even if the first episode had everyone gagging (literally).
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2026
Don’t gag, don’t cry — and my stomach lurched.
—Kate Crane, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gag
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gag
Noun
-
Just ask Harris, whose handling of the border under Biden became a running joke in politics.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
14 May 2026
-
Now, if there’s some people telling these jokes at a church service, that would be one thing.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
14 May 2026
Noun
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But the prank could come with legal consequences.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
13 May 2026
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Students entered Christ The King Catholic High School after hours on April 22 to stage a senior prank.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
12 May 2026
Verb
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Few walk out in protest anymore, and fewer still vomit, faint, or require the emergency medical attention the press so loves to lead with.—
Caroline Lillian Schopp,
Artforum,
13 May 2026
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One puppy later vomited up a bone, a stark indication of what little the animals had been consuming to survive.—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
The intensifying conflict in the Middle East has choked traffic through the Strait of Hormuz – a vital route for roughly 20% of the world’s oil, natural gas and critical raw materials.—
Nimi Princewill,
CNN Money,
15 May 2026
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The lawsuit also claims officers choked Day and slammed him against a wall, eventually coercing him into confessing to killing Irving and Garcia.—
Todd Feurer,
CBS News,
14 May 2026
Noun
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But when the Phillies remember the good times — the champagne toasts, the boisterous October clubhouses, the laughs shared on the field in the clubhouse — Suarez will always be there.—
Charlotte Varnes,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
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Hammond spent a year at the Comedy Cellar trying to crack Al Gore and never got a laugh.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
15 May 2026
Noun
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Winston makes a cameo to execute another electric Ford Field trick play, and the Giants lose a close one with their offense starting to find a new gear.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
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Sophisticated as chatbots’ responses may be, they are stitched together from statistical patterns in large datasets—an impressive trick but one that still falls short of the breadth and reliability in human-level clinical reasoning.—
Cody Cottier,
Scientific American,
15 May 2026
Noun
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The president has long bristled at the otherwise customary joking at his expense by celebrity comedians.—
Dennis Romero,
NBC news,
28 Apr. 2026
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Here opposites — classy and brassy — are distractions, with odd-couple joking substituting for something more substantial.—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gag.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gag. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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