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
On a lighter note, those of you who are AI insiders might have observed the joke that was involved in the decoding problem. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 13 Sep. 2024 The quote is a running joke on social media stemming from trash talk between a Baltimore Orioles fan and a person at TalkNats.com, a baseball blog dedicated to the Washington Nationals. David Wysong, The Enquirer, 13 Sep. 2024
Verb
Perry asked, partly joking, but mostly sincerely shocked on a recent KOST 103.5 broadcast with host Ellen K. Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 14 Sep. 2024 Oyelowo jokes that at one performance up in Scotland, the traveling troupe played to an audience of two. Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for joke 

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 1 Oct. 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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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