JOKE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does joke mean? 

• JOKE (noun)
  The noun JOKE has 4 senses:

1. a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter

2. activity characterized by good humor

3. a ludicrous or grotesque act done for fun and amusement

4. a triviality not to be taken seriously

  Familiarity information: JOKE used as a noun is uncommon.

• JOKE (verb)
  The verb JOKE has 2 senses:

1. tell a joke; speak humorously

2. act in a funny or teasing way

  Familiarity information: JOKE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• JOKE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

gag; jape; jest; joke; laugh

Context example:

even a schoolboy's jape is supposed to have some ascertainable point

Hypernyms ("joke" is a kind of...):

humor; humour; wit; witticism; wittiness (a message whose ingenuity or verbal skill or incongruity has the power to evoke laughter)

Meronyms (parts of "joke"):

gag line; laugh line; punch line; tag line (the point of a joke or humorous story)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "joke"):

in-joke (a joke that is appreciated only by members of some particular group of people)

sight gag; visual joke (a joke whose effect is achieved by visual means rather than by speech (as in a movie))

sick joke (a joke in bad taste)

shaggy dog story (a long rambling joke whose humor derives from its pointlessness)

one-liner (a one-line joke)

funny; funny remark; funny story; good story (an account of an amusing incident (usually with a punch line))

ethnic joke (a joke at the expense of some ethnic group)

blue joke; blue story; dirty joke; dirty story (an indelicate joke)

belly laugh; howler; riot; scream; sidesplitter; thigh-slapper; wow (a joke that seems extremely funny)

Derivation:

jocular (characterized by jokes and good humor)

joke (act in a funny or teasing way)

joke (tell a joke; speak humorously)

jokester (a person who enjoys telling or playing jokes)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Activity characterized by good humor

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

jest; jocularity; joke

Hypernyms ("joke" is a kind of...):

diversion; recreation (an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "joke"):

drollery; waggery (a quaint and amusing jest)

leg-pull; leg-pulling (as a joke: trying to make somebody believe something that is not true)

pleasantry (an agreeable or amusing remark)

Derivation:

jocular (characterized by jokes and good humor)

joke (act in a funny or teasing way)

joke (tell a joke; speak humorously)

jokester (a person who enjoys telling or playing jokes)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A ludicrous or grotesque act done for fun and amusement

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

antic; caper; joke; prank; put-on; trick

Hypernyms ("joke" is a kind of...):

diversion; recreation (an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "joke"):

practical joke (a prank or trick played on a person (especially one intended to make the victim appear foolish))

dirty trick (an unkind or aggressive trick)

Derivation:

jokester (a person who enjoys telling or playing jokes)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A triviality not to be taken seriously

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

I regarded his campaign for mayor as a joke

Hypernyms ("joke" is a kind of...):

pettiness; puniness; slightness; triviality (the quality of being unimportant and petty or frivolous)

• JOKE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they joke    ... he / she / it jokes   
Past simple: joked   
Past participle: joked   
-ing form: joking   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Tell a joke; speak humorously

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

jest; joke

Context example:

He often jokes even when he appears serious

Hypernyms (to "joke" is one way to...):

communicate; intercommunicate (transmit thoughts or feelings)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "joke"):

gag; quip (make jokes or quips)

arse around; fool; fool around; horse around (indulge in horseplay)

pun (make a play on words)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

joke (activity characterized by good humor)

joke (a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter)

joker (a person who enjoys telling or playing jokes)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Act in a funny or teasing way

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

jest; joke

Hypernyms (to "joke" is one way to...):

act; behave; do (behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "joke"):

antic; clown; clown around (act as or like a clown)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

joke (activity characterized by good humor)

joke (a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter)

joker (a person who enjoys telling or playing jokes)

 Context examples 

By this time my little joke was over, and I was almost ashamed; so I took the typewritten copy from my workbasket and handed it to him.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Dora made haste to kiss my aunt, and say, “Yes, you do! I'm only joking!”-lest my aunt should think she really meant it.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“It was only a joke at first,” groaned our visitor. “We never thought that she would have been so carried away.”

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

She answered that it was some senseless practical joke, and that I should not take any notice of it.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Well, how pleased I am! and it is such a good joke, too, that you should have gone this morning and never said a word about it till now.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

In his love of jokes, this young gentleman, though nearly through college, was a much of a boy as ever.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) Does the patient tell jokes or make remarks that are not funny to others but seem funny to him/her?

(NPI - Tell Jokes or Make Remarks That are Not Funny to Others, NCI Thesaurus)

Some adults joke about having a "senior moment."

(Memory, NIH: National Institute on Aging)

Roberts says his event, "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us", was posted as a joke.

(Millions don't turn up to 'storm' US airbase for extraterrestrial evidence, Wikinews)

And he began to laugh again, and that so heartily, that though I did not see the joke as he did, I was again obliged to join him in his mirth.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)