1
as in laughs
something said or done to cause laughter
he was known for his hilarious jokes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in parodies
a poor, insincere, or insulting imitation of something
her rendition of the national anthem is a joke
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in fools
a person or thing that is made fun of
having lost his looks and his voice years ago, these days he's just a show business joke and fodder for late-night comedy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in kids
to make jokes
he was known for his ability to joke about his lack of anything resembling a social life
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of jokes
Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
On social media, make jokes that don’t follow logic or build toward a punch line, but rather rely on jump cuts and endless captions.
—Emily Menez, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2026
Atlanta’s Kountry Wayne, who grew up in the tiny southwest Georgia town of Millen, was an early fan of social media, building his comedic act with sketches and jokes on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter in the early 2010s.
—Rodney Ho, AJC.com, 30 Mar. 2026
This, and jokes like it, transcend absurd exaggeration to achieve something much closer to magical realism.
—Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 30 Mar. 2026
The text messages contained jokes about gas chambers, slavery, and rape.
—Peter Wehner, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2026
The arm measurement spawned numerous online jokes, comparing Bain’s arms to those of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a dinosaur with short arms.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 23 Mar. 2026
Some of the humor was mildly edgy, including jokes about pedophiles, the Epstein files and disgraced royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
—ABC News, 22 Mar. 2026
As someone whose comedy career has skyrocketed over the last several years, Wayne’s sights continue to be set toward future opportunities to bring relatable humor to the masses who have that country cousin who walks, talks and jokes just like him.
—Deputy Entertainment, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2026
Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2026
Bridges jokes that her staff are more nervous about a drop-by visit from her than from state inspectors.
—Katie Langford, Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2026
And that is how the government of Lebanon jokes about us.
—Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 12 Mar. 2026
When Bad Bunny began the halftime show by carrying a football around his detailed Levi’s Stadium set, jokes that the artist had accumulated more yards than the Patriots flooded social media.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 9 Feb. 2026
One member of staff jokes that upon seeing Ho, there is a sudden impulse to salute, not out of fear, but out of sheer pride in the project.
—Megan Feringa, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
At the end of the video, Swift shows a clip from their appearance on the Graham Norton Show in which Gleeson jokes about wanting to star in a music video and Swift giving a surprised, but cryptic smile.
—Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 6 Feb. 2026
In it, DiCaprio expressively jokes with an unseen person.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 14 Jan. 2026
Palka jokes more than once that I could be baptized at their next ceremony.
—Tara Palmeri, Vanity Fair, 12 Jan. 2026
Noun
TikTok Reacts Viewers flooded the comments with theories and jokes.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
On social media, make jokes that don’t follow logic or build toward a punch line, but rather rely on jump cuts and endless captions.
—Emily Menez, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2026
Atlanta’s Kountry Wayne, who grew up in the tiny southwest Georgia town of Millen, was an early fan of social media, building his comedic act with sketches and jokes on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter in the early 2010s.
—Rodney Ho, AJC.com, 30 Mar. 2026
This, and jokes like it, transcend absurd exaggeration to achieve something much closer to magical realism.
—Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 30 Mar. 2026
The text messages contained jokes about gas chambers, slavery, and rape.
—Peter Wehner, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2026
The arm measurement spawned numerous online jokes, comparing Bain’s arms to those of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a dinosaur with short arms.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 23 Mar. 2026
Some of the humor was mildly edgy, including jokes about pedophiles, the Epstein files and disgraced royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
—ABC News, 22 Mar. 2026
As someone whose comedy career has skyrocketed over the last several years, Wayne’s sights continue to be set toward future opportunities to bring relatable humor to the masses who have that country cousin who walks, talks and jokes just like him.
—Deputy Entertainment, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2026
Verb
The comedian jokes to laughter and applause before asking if anyone in the room is a lawyer.
—Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2026
Bridges jokes that her staff are more nervous about a drop-by visit from her than from state inspectors.
—Katie Langford, Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2026
And that is how the government of Lebanon jokes about us.
—Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 12 Mar. 2026
When Bad Bunny began the halftime show by carrying a football around his detailed Levi’s Stadium set, jokes that the artist had accumulated more yards than the Patriots flooded social media.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 9 Feb. 2026
One member of staff jokes that upon seeing Ho, there is a sudden impulse to salute, not out of fear, but out of sheer pride in the project.
—Megan Feringa, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
At the end of the video, Swift shows a clip from their appearance on the Graham Norton Show in which Gleeson jokes about wanting to star in a music video and Swift giving a surprised, but cryptic smile.
—Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 6 Feb. 2026
In it, DiCaprio expressively jokes with an unseen person.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 14 Jan. 2026
Palka jokes more than once that I could be baptized at their next ceremony.
—Tara Palmeri, Vanity Fair, 12 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jokes
Noun
-
The guys hit a Foxwoods, get some laughs, and skip back home.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Styled like a hyper-sexualized Powerpuff Girl, Cherry is responsible for many of the film’s biggest laughs — and some of its strangest tonal misfires.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
How did Jane Lynch wind up in the YouTube ad parodies?—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Countless memes and parodies have circulated online.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
McGinn sets high standards in training and during games and does not suffer fools.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Antisemitism is the socialism of fools, right?—
Suzanne Schneider,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Ziegler most recently served as senior vice president and general merchandise manager at Saks Global overseeing multiple women’s and kids categories for Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.—
David Moin,
Footwear News,
20 Feb. 2026
-
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends kids ages 1-3 get 500 milligrams of calcium and 400 international units of vitamin D per day, ages 4-8 get 800 mg of calcium and 600 IU of vitamin D per day, and kids ages 9-17 get 1,300 mg of calcium and 600 IU vitamin D per day.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The trailer then shows Hagrid explaining the Wizarding World to Harry and teases some information about his deceased parents.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2026
-
The trailer teases a few of those moments, including one with Cyrus and her mom Tish Cyrus-Purcell sitting in Hannah Montana's iconic closet.—
Angeline Jane Bernabe,
ABC News,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
But what was served up were stale, pale sketches that seemed to have been exhumed from some old codger’s book of gags from 19 bloody 50!—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
21 Mar. 2026
-
One of the better gags of last night’s Academy Awards ceremony came at the very end of the show, even after the Best Picture winners’ speeches.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
While some celebrants have greeted these caricatures with cathartic jeers and sneers, others are shocked and outraged.—
Tim Brinkhof,
JSTOR Daily,
1 Apr. 2026
-
There will also be hands-on creative activities for people of all ages, including printmaking, henna and glitter tattoos, foam crafts, sand art, caricatures, and more.—
Alyson Rodriguez,
Dallas Morning News,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Consumers have seen prices jump by a $1 at the pump over the month, while the United States, Israel and Iran enter a new phase in the ongoing war, in which oil and gas have become key targets for both sides.—
Kate Perez,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Other targets, according to a post on X, included command centers, posts of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, air defense systems, ballistic missile sites, navy ships and submarines as well as anti-ship missiles sites, drone manufacturing and other weapon production facilities.—
NPR Staff,
NPR,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Jokes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jokes. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
