joke
verb/dʒəʊk/
/dʒəʊk/
Verb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they joke | /dʒəʊk/ /dʒəʊk/ |
| he / she / it jokes | /dʒəʊks/ /dʒəʊks/ |
| past simple joked | /dʒəʊkt/ /dʒəʊkt/ |
| past participle joked | /dʒəʊkt/ /dʒəʊkt/ |
| -ing form joking | /ˈdʒəʊkɪŋ/ /ˈdʒəʊkɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to say something to make people laugh; to tell a funny story
- She was laughing and joking with the children.
- I'm the sort of person who likes to joke a lot.
- joke about something They often joked about all the things that could go wrong.
- + speech ‘I cooked it myself, so be careful!’ he joked.
Extra Examples- Everyone just joked around and enjoyed themselves.
- She's always joking with her friends.
- They laughed and joked as they walked along.
- We joked about the amount of equipment we had to carry.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- half
- around
- lamely
- …
- about
- with
- be only joking
- joking apart
- joking aside
- …
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
- [intransitive, transitive] to say something that is not true because you think it is funny
- I didn't mean that—I was only joking.
- joke about something We joked about the possibility of him buying out the company.
- joke about doing something He was only half joking about being president one day.
- joke that… She joked that she only loved him for his money.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- half
- around
- lamely
- …
- about
- with
- be only joking
- joking apart
- joking aside
- …
Word Originlate 17th cent. (originally slang): perhaps from Latin jocus ‘jest, wordplay’.
Idioms
See joke in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryjoking apart (British English)joking aside (British English, North American English)
- used to show that you are now being serious after you have said something funny
you’re joking | you must be joking
- (informal) used to show that you are very surprised at what somebody has just said
- She's going out with Dan? You're joking!
- No way am I doing that. You must be joking!
Check pronunciation:
joke