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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. Something said or done to evoke laughter or amusement, especially an amusing story with a punch line.
  2. n. A mischievous trick; a prank.
  3. n. An amusing or ludicrous incident or situation.
  4. n. Informal Something not to be taken seriously; a triviality: The accident was no joke.
  5. n. Informal An object of amusement or laughter; a laughingstock: His loud tie was the joke of the office.
  6. v. To tell or play jokes; jest.
  7. v. To speak in fun; be facetious.
  8. v. To make fun of; tease.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. Something said or done for the sake of exciting laughter; some witty or sportive remark or act; a jest; also, jesting; raillery.
  2. n. Something not real, or to no purpose; what is not in earnest or actually meant; an illusion.
  3. n. Synonyms See jest.
  4. To jest; make merry about something.
  5. To cast jokes at; make merry with; rally: as, to joke a man about his love-affairs.

Wiktionary

  1. n. An amusing story.
  2. n. Something said or done for amusement.
  3. n. A worthless thing or person.
  4. v. To do or say something for humourous amusement rather than seriously.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. Something said for the sake of exciting a laugh; something witty or sportive (commonly indicating more of hilarity or humor than jest); a jest; a witticism.
  2. n. Something not said seriously, or not actually meant; something done in sport.
  3. v. To make merry with; to make jokes upon; to rally; to banter.
  4. v. To do something for sport, or as a joke; to be merry in words or actions; to jest.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a triviality not to be taken seriously
  2. n. a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
  3. n. a ludicrous or grotesque act done for fun and amusement
  4. v. tell a joke; speak humorously
  5. v. act in a funny or teasing way
  6. n. activity characterized by good humor

Etymologies

  1. Latin iocus; see yek- in Indo-European roots.

Examples

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Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘joke’.

Comments

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  • oroboros Knock, knock... Mar 31, 2010

  • chained_bear HA HA HA HA!!! Love it! Jul 31, 2008

  • Prolagus Those bastards! Jul 31, 2008

  • skipvia Newly discovered Sumerian joke:

    Q: How many Akkadians does it take to light a lamp?

    A: None. The Akkadians, in their ignorance, pray to Enlil for deliverance from the curse of darkness. Jul 31, 2008

  • skipvia From this story on Yahoo News:

    "The world's oldest recorded joke has been traced back to 1900 BC and suggests that toilet humor was as popular with the ancients as it is today.

    It is a saying of the Sumerians, who lived in what is now southern Iraq and goes: 'Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap.'"

    Those zany Sumerians! What a laff riot! Jul 31, 2008

  • skipvia OK...Did you hear about the newlywed couple who didn't know the difference between vaseline and putty? All of their windows fell out. Feb 29, 2008

  • skipvia This is a joke, right?... Jan 30, 2008

  • reesetee The context makes it even better! Jan 27, 2008

  • asativum What Treeseed said! Jan 26, 2008

  • sonofgroucho Thanks Treeseed! I just heard it today on the radio in a piece about joke-telling in suppressive political regimes. Jan 26, 2008

  • treeseed That, S of G, is my new favorite quotation. I love it...and so true. Jan 26, 2008

  • sonofgroucho "Every joke is a tiny revolution." George Orwell. Jan 26, 2008

  • oroboros ...AND the wait in the hallway outside the Lady's Room on the S.S. Loll 'n Crawl. Aug 29, 2007

  • uselessness ...the corduroy pillowcases? They're making headlines all over town. Aug 29, 2007

  • oroboros Heehee! That was a good 'un. So, did you hear the one about....? Aug 29, 2007

‘joke’ has been looked up 2497 times, added to 15 lists, commented on 15 times, and has a Scrabble score of 15.