# joke

Pronunciation: say "JOHK" US /d͡ʒoʊk/, UK /d͡ʒəʊk/

## Noun

1. Something said or done in fun rather than in earnest, not intended to be taken seriously.
   - Simple: Something you say or do for fun, not because you really mean it.
   - _She meant the comment as a joke, but it came out sounding harsh._
   - _Filling his office with balloons started as a joke between coworkers._
2. An amusing story told to entertain or make people laugh.
   - Simple: A short, funny story that you tell to make people laugh.
   - _He opened his speech with a joke about airline food._
   - _The comedian's best jokes all involved her childhood in a small town._
4. A person or thing so laughably bad or inadequate as to deserve no respect; a sham.
   - Simple: A thing or person so bad that people cannot take it seriously.
   - _The so-called security system was a joke, defeated by a single guessed password._
   - _Critics dismissed the hearing as a joke, staged purely for the cameras._
5. A task or challenge that proves much easier or less demanding than anticipated.
   - Simple: Something that turns out to be much easier than you expected.
   - _Compared with last year's marathon course, this one was a joke._
   - _The interview turned out to be a joke; they asked only two questions and offered her the position._
7. The amusing, ridiculous, or ironic aspect of a situation or matter.
   - Simple: The funny or surprising thing about a situation.
   - _The real joke is that after all that arguing, both sides wanted the same thing._
   - _After weeks of finger-pointing, the joke was that nobody had ever mailed the invitations._

## Verb

3. To say or do something for amusement rather than in earnest.
   - Simple: To say or do something for fun, not in a serious way.
   - _The nurses joke with patients to put them at ease before surgery._
   - _Even at the somber reception, he joked quietly to lighten the mood._

## Verb

6. To tease someone playfully; to make good-humored jokes at their expense. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To tease someone in a friendly way by making jokes about them.

## Origin

From Latin iocus ("joke, jest, pastime"), which traces back through Proto-Italic *jokos ("word, saying," perhaps playful) to a Proto-Indo-European root *yek- ("to speak, utter"). It is related to French jeu, Italian gioco, and Spanish juego.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/joke (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).