Meaning & use
joke
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Meanings
nouncountable
Something said or done to make people laugh, often a short funny story with a surprising ending.
Grammar: Usually tell a joke or crack a joke.
Patterns
- tell a joke
- a joke about something
He told a joke about a penguin that made everyone laugh.
Her joke about the long meeting broke the tension.
The comedian opened with a joke about airports.
nouncountable
A trick or act done to amuse people, usually at someone's expense.
Grammar: Often a practical joke: play a joke on someone.
Patterns
- play a joke on someone
The students played a joke on their teacher by hiding her chalk.
It was only a joke, so please don't be upset.
The prank was a harmless joke.
nounsingularinformaldisapproving
A person or thing so bad or foolish that it is not taken seriously.
Grammar: Informal; used with a: the referee was a joke.
Patterns
- be a joke
- be the joke of something
The service at the restaurant was a joke.
The new rules are a joke and nobody follows them.
His excuse was such a joke that no one believed it.
verbintransitive
To say funny things or tease playfully, without being serious.
Grammar: No object; often followed by about or with: joke about the weather.
Patterns
- joke about something
- joke with someone
They joked about the burnt toast at breakfast.
Don't worry, I'm only joking.
He likes to joke with the waiters.
Word forms
| plural | jokes |
|---|---|
| third person singular | jokes |
| past tense | joked |
| past participle | joked |
| -ing form | joking |
Common combinations
- tell a joke
- My dad loves to tell a joke at dinner.
- crack a joke
- She cracked a joke to ease the tension.
- practical joke
- He pulled a practical joke on his roommate.
- joke around
- The kids were joking around in the back seat.
- inside joke
- The nickname is an inside joke among the team.
- no joke
- Running a marathon is no joke.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gag
- A gag is a quick joke or visual trick, often in comedy shows.
- prank
- A prank is a playful trick played on someone, rather than a spoken funny story.
- quip
- A quip is a short clever remark and tends to be witty rather than silly.
- jest
- Jest is an old-fashioned word for a joke or playful remark.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: joke or yolk? joke or joker?
joke vs yolk
The yolk is the yellow part of an egg and is pronounced the same as joke only in the final sound, so they are not a match.
joke vs joker
A joker is a person who makes jokes, whereas a joke is the thing said or done.
Practice
I wasn't being serious; I was only ___, so please don't take it personally.
Choose one answer.
After was being or was only, the -ing form joking is correct as a progressive verb. Jokingly is an adverb and cannot follow was only here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “joke”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.