joke

/ˈʤoʊk/

• Noun
• something said or done to cause laughter
1. She meant it as a joke, but many people took her seriously.
2. Is this your idea of a joke? [=do you think that what you are saying/doing is funny?]
3. They played a harmless joke on him.
4. They are always making jokes about his car.
5. He thought he could embarrass us, but now the joke is on him. [=he is the one who looks foolish]
6. He just can't take a joke. [=he does not like it when other people make jokes about him]
• a brief story with a surprising and funny ending
1. I heard a funny joke yesterday.
2. the punch line of a joke
3. She's always cracking/telling jokes.
4. I didn't get/understand the joke.
5. an inside joke [=a joke that is understood only by people with special knowledge about something]
• someone or something that is not worth taking seriously
1. That exam was a joke.
2. Their product became a joke in the industry.
3. He's in danger of becoming a national joke.
4. It's no joke to be lost in the woods. = Being lost in the woods is no joke. [=being lost in the woods is a serious situation]
• Verb

• to say things that are meant to cause laughter
1. My friends would joke about the uniform I had to wear at work.
2. She joked about the possibility of losing her job.
3. I thought he was joking when he said he might quit, but it turned out that he really meant it.
4. Don't take it seriously: I was only joking.
5. She spent a few minutes joking with reporters after giving her speech.
6. “The report is to be done by tomorrow.” “You're joking.” = “You must be joking.” [=you must be kidding; what you say is very surprising or hard to believe]
7. It's no joking matter. [=it is no joke; it is a serious matter]
8. She joked that she could always get work as a truck driver if she lost her job.