jokejoke2 ●●● S3 verb [intransitive] 
I never joke about money.joke with As we left the hospital, he joked with the staff.joke that His father joked that his son was trying to put him out of business. Calm down, Jo, I was only joking.2you’re joking/you must be joking (also you’ve got to be joking) spoken used to tell someone that what they are suggesting is so strange or silly that you cannot believe that they are serious: ‘Tell him.’ ‘You must be joking – he’d never believe me.’3joking apart/aside British English used before you say something serious after you have been joking—jokingly adverb
VERB TABLE
joke
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | joke |
| he, she, it | jokes | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | joked |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have joked |
| he, she, it | has joked | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had joked |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will joke |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have joked |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am joking |
| he, she, it | is joking | |
| you, we, they | are joking | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was joking |
| you, we, they | were joking | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been joking |
| he, she, it | has been joking | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been joking |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be joking |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been joking |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- A group of teenagers were standing at the corner, laughing and joking.
- They're a good class to teach. You can joke and have a laugh with them.
- When he was a kid he was embarrassed about his height, but now he can joke about it.
- Armed with his Bumper Fun Book, the minister of Dunlop joked his way around the world at various functions.
- I must tell Philippa that I was joking.
- I was unresponsive and kept joking with him about it - but I made it clear I wasn't interested.
- Now he was joking about the rumours of his marriage.
- Some one joked about opening a tranquilizer concession.
- Though Cosby joked about it, Ennis' school performance in those years was anything but funny offstage.
- Well, okay, he joked, his voice smooth as glass.
Longman Language Activatorsomething you say or write in order to be funny
· Have you heard any good jokes lately?· Wilson spoke for about 15 minutes, peppering his mainly serious message with jokes.joke about · Leno opened the show with a joke about the election.get the jokealso see a joke British (=understand a joke) · It wasn't that I didn't get the joke - I just didn't think it was funny.· Everyone laughed except Mr Broadbent, who didn't see the joke.tell a joke · It's a good idea to start a speech by telling a joke.dirty joke (=one about sex) · In some situations, a dirty joke can be considered sexual harassment.private joke (=a secret joke) · The two girls were whispering in the corner and giggling over some private joke.
a short story you tell to make people laugh: · It reminded her of a funny story she'd heard at work.tell a funny story: · He began telling funny stories about the time he worked as a barman on a cruise ship.
informal something funny that someone says to try to make people laugh - use this especially when what they say annoys you: · Bob Hope would keep his audience laughing with an endless stream of jokes and wisecracks.· Amy responded with a wisecrack that got her in big trouble with the teacher.
a short remark that is funny and clever: · There are some memorable one-liners in every Woody Allen film.· It's a hilarious scene with a succession of brilliant one-liners from Groucho Marx.
a short joke, especially one told by a professional entertainer as part of a show: · His first job was writing gags for a famous comedian.gag about: · He started the show with a few old gags about mothers-in-law.
the sentence or phrase that comes at the end of a joke, and makes it funny: · He got to the end of the joke and couldn't remember the punch line.· I waited for the punch line, but it never came.
spoken say this when you are going to tell someone a joke about a particular subject: · Have you heard the one about the brown cow who goes into a bar?
a joke made by deliberately mixing up or mistaking two different meanings of the same word or two words with the same sound: · "Seven days without food makes one weak'' is a pun on the words "week'' and "weak'', and also on the different meanings of "one''.· The audience groaned at his pun.(if you'll) pardon the pun (=used to say that you know what you are going to say has two meanings): · "Pardon the pun, but we were all in the same boat," said Navy Lieutenant Green.
a joke made by deliberately using a word or phrase that has two possible meanings, one of which is about sex or sexual parts of the body: · Dirty jokes and double meanings are what makes the show funny.· The song's lyrics are full of double entendres.
something that you do to make people laugh · We didn't mean to frighten you. It was only a joke.· Inside the parcel there was an empty bottle. "Is this some kind of joke?'' he asked.take a joke (=accept a joke that is against you) · I can take a joke as well as anyone, but this isn't funny, it's embarrassing.
a trick, especially one that is carefully planned that is intended to confuse and surprise someone and to make other people laugh at them: · The phone call was the sort of practical joke that radio stations often play on celebrities.play a practical joke: · Police believe the circles in the crops are made by someone playing an elaborate practical joke.
a silly action that is intended as a harmless joke - use this especially when something serious happens as a result of it: · The fire was started as a prank.· Pushing her in the river seemed like a harmless prank, but it ended in tragedy.pull/play a prank (on somebody): · Every year, the older kids pull pranks on new students.
to surprise or deceive someone with a trick so that you and other people can laugh at them: · He didn't seem the type of boy to play jokes.play a trick/joke on: · When she didn't come, I thought she was playing a trick on me.
also for a joke British if you do something as a joke or for a joke , you do it because you think it will have amusing results or make people laugh: · You shouldn't spread rumours like that, even as a joke.· Once, for a joke, they changed round all the numbers on the doors.
British informal if you do something for a laugh , you do it for fun or to make people laugh: · Just for a laugh we hung all the pictures upside down.· Kevin set off the fire alarm for a laugh.
to say something to make people laugh · Nick cracked a joke to try to ease the tension.· My mother makes a joke of just about everything.make a joke/crack a joke about · This is a serious matter. I wish you wouldn't make jokes about it.
to tell someone a joke that you have heard or read somewhere else: · I tried to cheer him up by telling a joke.· I'm afraid I'm not very good at telling jokes.tell somebody a joke: · Pat told them a joke about two flies walking on the ceiling.
to say funny things and talk in a way that is not serious: · A group of teenagers were standing at the corner, laughing and joking.· They're a good class to teach. You can joke and have a laugh with them.joke about: · When he was a kid he was embarrassed about his height, but now he can joke about it.
to make funny remarks, especially ones that could annoy some people: · Grable made him mad by wisecracking about his weight.· The president appeared totally relaxed, chatting and wisecracking with reporters.
someone who tells jokes or does things to make people laugh a professional entertainer who makes people laugh: · Lenny Henry, the famous British comedian, will appear in a show in London next week.· Before becoming a film actor, he'd been a comic appearing regularly in cabaret.stand-up comedian/comic (=one who stands alone in front of the public and tells jokes): · Robin Williams first made his name as a stand-up comedian.
an intelligent person who is good at being funny in clever or original ways: · Rochester was well known as a wit in society circles.· A dozen writers and wits used to gather at the Algonquin Hotel for lunch.
someone who does something in order to confuse or trick someone else, to make other people laugh: · The shop sold toys and gadgets for practical jokers.
to pretend that something is true as a joke informal to say something that is not true as a joke: · When he asked me to marry him I wasn't sure whether he was joking or being serious.just/only kidding: · "You're just kidding, right Mom?" Joe asked anxiously.· Don't get mad - I was only joking!are you kidding?/you're kidding! (=say this when you think someone is joking): · You're kidding. You mean it only rains once a year there?· "They wanted $425 just for the room." "Are you kidding?"no kidding (=say this to show you are serious): · It was the best pizza I've ever eaten, no kidding.no kidding? (=say this when you think someone could be joking): · She's only sixteen? No kidding? She looks twenty-five.
if you say something jokingly you say it to amuse people, and do not really mean it seriously: · Braden jokingly refers to her daughter as "the demon."
British /you're putting me on American spoken say this when you think someone is trying to make you believe something that is not true: · Come on, you guys, you're putting me on, right?· He makes £80,000 a year? You're having me on.
informal to try to make someone believe something that is not true, as a friendly joke: · Is all this really true, or are you pulling my leg?· You don't really have to buy tickets. I was just pulling your leg.
British to say something that is untrue, or do or say something to deliberately annoy someone, as a joke: · I was only winding you up - don't take it so seriously!
not behaving or speaking seriously not being serious about something that should be taken seriously, so that people think you do not care: · People ask me if I'm related to him, and my answer is usually a flippant "No, but I wish I were."· When asked what is wrong with the economy, analysts reply "Not enough money." This answer is not as flippant as it sounds.· Sorry if that sounded flippant or heartless - it wasn't meant to be.
actions or behaviour that are playful are not serious, but they are fun and friendly: · He gave me a playful slap on the shoulder.· She tried to sound playful but somehow the words came out the wrong way.
making jokes or trying to be funny in a clever or unkind way that people think is annoying: · At the risk of sounding facetious, who really cares about what happens?· The speech saying drug users should be shot was clearly facetious, but it contained a serious point.
a remark, statement etc that is tongue-in-cheek is intended as a joke but is said or written in a serious or sincere way: · His tongue-in-cheek articles are brilliantly funny and very political.· "This just shows you what a great coach I am," said Braden, tongue-in-cheek.
what you say to someone when you do not believe them spoken informal say this when you are very surprised by what someone has just said and cannot believe that it is true: · They got married! You're kidding!· "When he sat down, the chair just collapsed." "You're joking."
/come on spoken informal say this when you cannot believe what someone has said, and you think they do not really believe it themselves: · "He kind of reminds me of myself at that age." "Oh come off it. When you were that age all you wanted to do was have fun."· Oh come on Keith - do you really expect me to believe that?
spoken informal say this when you do not believe something that someone has said, and you think they are deliberately telling you something that is not true: · "I really wanted to come, but I overslept." "Yeah, right. Then why didn't you set your alarm?"
spoken say this when you think someone is telling you something that they know is not true: · "I was going to pay the money back as soon as I saw you." "Yeah. Likely story!"
British spoken say this when it is very clear that someone is not telling you the truth or that they are trying to trick you: · Oh, pull the other one, John. You can't seriously expect me to believe that!
American spoken say this when you think that something is very surprising or that someone is not telling you the truth or is trying to trick you: · "I got the car for just $350 dollars." "Get out of here!"
spoken say this when you think someone is lying to you and you want to show them that you are not stupid enough to believe it: · You can't expect me to trust you after all the other promises you've broken, you know. I wasn't born yesterday.
ways of saying no to a question, request, or suggestion use this when someone asks you a question or makes a request or suggestion: · "Are you Italian?" "No, I'm Spanish."· "Shall I help you?" "No, no -- I can do it on my own, thanks."the answer's no: · If she asks to borrow any more money, the answer's no!
use this when what someone has suggested is not at all true, or when saying you do not mind at all if someone does something: · "Your boys are keen on sport, aren't they?" "Not at all - just the opposite in fact."· "Is my radio bothering you?" "Not at all -- I'm quite enjoying it."· "I'd like to be on my own for a while. Do you mind?" "Not at all," she said kindly.
use this when saying that you are sorry that you cannot do something that someone has asked you to do, do not have something someone has asked you for etc: · "Are you coming to the barbecue tomorrow?" "No, I'm afraid not. I've promised to go and see my Mum."· "Have you got change for £20?" "No, I'm afraid not."
use this to say no very strongly, when you think what someone has suggested or asked is clearly unlikely or stupid: · "Are you serious about Sam?" "Of course not, we're just good friends."· "Don't tell anyone else, will you?" "Of course not."
use this when someone asks if you want to do something, if you like something etc, and although you say no you do not have very strong feelings about it: · "Do you want to come to the movie with us?" "Not really. I think I'll just stay in and read."· "But you quite enjoy your job, don't you?" "Not really, no. I feel I could do with a change."
use this especially when forbidding someone to do something or when you are annoyed or shocked that they have suggested something: · "Can I have some wine?" "Certainly not -- you're far too young!"· "Are you thinking of resigning?" "Certainly not."
informal use this when you are saying very strongly that you refuse to do something or when you are sure that something cannot possibly be true: · I'm not going to work late on Friday night! No way!· "Do you think we can make the trip in two hours?" "No way! It'll take more like four."· I don't believe he stole the money -- no way!
informal use this when you think that what someone has asked or suggested seems stupid or dangerous and you would definitely not consider doing it: · "Want a ride on the back of my motorcycle?" "You must be kidding."· "Are you going out with Jake?" "You must be joking! I wouldn't go out with him if he was the last person on earth."
used to tell someone that you are serious, or to ask if someone is serious spoken say this to emphasize that something surprising is really true, or to ask whether something surprising is really true: really?/seriously?: · "She's quit her job. "Seriously?''· "It took three hours to travel ten miles, the traffic was so bad.'' "Really? You must be exhausted.''
especially American, spoken say this when you think other people will not believe that you are telling the truth, or to ask if someone is joking because what they say does not seem true: · I'm telling you, this guy's as fast as Carl Lewis -- no kidding!· "She's getting married again." "No kidding?"
spoken say this when you are telling someone about something that will be hard for them to believe: · He asked me, in all seriousness, if I would marry him next week.· She had heard someone say, in all seriousness, that women would never make good golfers because of the shape of their bodies.
British spoken say this to show that you are now being serious about something, after you and other people have been joking about it: · Joking apart, I do feel somebody should tell him what we think. It's for his own good.
to really mean what you say to really mean what you say or really intend to do something: · Do you think she was serious when she said she used to be an actress?· Listen! I'm serious! I'm not lending you any more money!be serious about: · Tina's quite intelligent, but she's not really serious about her schoolwork.serious about doing something: · I hope Jeff's serious about giving up smoking.get serious about something (=start dealing with a problem in a determined way): · Car manufacturers should get serious about making security a design priority.deadly serious (=extremely serious): · Her voice suddenly sounded deadly serious.be perfectly/absolutely serious (=be serious in a situation where it is hard to believe that someone could be): · "Look!" he said, "I am perfectly serious. I'm willing to give you $10,000 for your land."
if someone means what they say, they are being serious when they say it, and they are not pretending or lying: mean it especially spoken: · I mean it - I'll scream if you don't let me go.· She told me she loved me - but I wasn't sure if she meant it.mean what you say: · I meant what I said, I never want to see you again.
if you say you are not joking , you really mean what you say, even though it seems surprising or unlikely: · There must be about 10 of them in that car - I'm not joking.· She told him she'd call the police if he bothered her again, and she wasn't joking.
if you say or do something seriously , you really mean it, really intend to do it, or really think it is important: · Are you seriously suggesting that she should give up her job in order to look after her husband?seriously intend/want/attempt etc to do something: · Those who seriously attempt to kill themselves usually manage to do so.seriously concerned/interested/worried etc: · She was talking about children's social education at a time when no one else was seriously concerned with it.
spoken if someone means business , it is very clear that they will definitely do what they say or what they are threatening to do: · The man had a gun. It was obvious he meant business.
if someone is in earnest , they really mean what they say, especially when they are saying what they want or what they intend to do: · I'm sure he was in earnest when he said he wanted to marry her.be very much in earnest: · She spoke lightly, but it was obvious that she was very much in earnest.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Calm down, Jo, I was only joking.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES a very black joke kids telling dirty jokes Do you remember any funny stories about work? Don’t you ever pull a stunt like that again! The other officers laughed, but Nichols couldn’t see the joke. a weak joke The film begins well but the joke wears thin after about ten minutes.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
Calm down, Jo, I was only joking. a very black joke kids telling dirty jokes Do you remember any funny stories about work? Don’t you ever pull a stunt like that again! The other officers laughed, but Nichols couldn’t see the joke.· They sat around telling terrible jokes.
a weak joke The film begins well but the joke wears thin after about ten minutes.· Don't joke about serious issues or say things you don't mean or it could be held against you later.· The two joked about running a joint write-in campaign, then started to take the joke seriously.· Always joking about rats: that's what I call a weird sense of humour.· Some one joked about opening a tranquilizer concession.· I don't think a lot of the staff liked you laughing and joking about.· Clinton supporters joke about how nice it would have been had Buchanan been the opposing nominee.· Though Cosby joked about it, Ennis' school performance in those years was anything but funny offstage.· Certainly there were plenty of things wrong within that school building and there was enough we could have joked about.
· Some of this is very serious, and some of it is joking around.· Well, as a matter of fact, you did, but as you say, that was just joking around.
· They had only joked about my going back to Bhuj because they thought I needed cheering up.· Bill Shankly was only joking when he said football was more important than life and death.· Of course, Fagan was only joking about not having Chaffee back next year.
VERB· Initially, she claimed that when she left the gardens, Mrs McMullen was laughing and joking with McLean.· With no worries of visits from secret police, we laughed and joked the night away, drinking wine and plum brandy.· Where everything was just plain and simple, laughing and joking the norm.· We laughed and joked, Ichiro trying the whiskey, me sipping a little sake.· He started to laugh and joked back.· They laughed and joked, and sometimes when the topic of the war came up, they became quiet.· We laughed and joked throughout and won the tournament.· I was out of my seat and out of the lecture hall before he could finish laughing at his own joke.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► you’re joking/you must be jokingPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► feed lines/jokes to somebody► is it somebody’s idea of a joke?► naughty jokes/magazines/films etc► be sprinkled with jokes/quotations etc► threadbare excuse/argument/joke etc
- Peter joking apart have the tories done themselves any good this week?
- Joking apart, I do feel somebody should tell him what we think. It's for his own good.
- Peter joking apart have the tories done themselves any good this week?
- He was relaxed and cracking jokes, despite his ordeal.
- And he was clean and tidy now, and civil, and could even crack a joke.
- Before tempers flared, Dutriz cracked a joke, and talk returned to the news.
- I cracked jokes, told stories, performed little tricks with the silverware.
- Maxie Carlo must've cracked a joke.
- Mike and his robots maintain their sanity by cracking jokes during the movie.
- They crack jokes, laughing and shouting.
- We all cracked jokes over the intercom and talked about what we were going to do.
- When he cracks a joke or whatever he does in front of the class, he just turn round and laugh.
- He had always played tricks on her.
- Her brain had to be playing tricks on her.
- In one of them, a man named Wakefield decides to play a joke on his wife.
- It allowed me to detect instances when time played tricks on the memory of some of the respondents.
- Jack felt edgy but convinced himself that his nerves were playing tricks on him.
- Somewhat perturbed, Ted flung the door open still believing that the platelayers were playing tricks on him.
- They delight in playing tricks on mortals, though they will cease to give trouble if politely requested to do so.
- Yes, fate was playing tricks on me.
- But I sensed they were getting along fine and easy-sharing private jokes and the like.
- But Sir Thomas liked riddles and his own private jokes.
- He turned away as we entered, shoulders shaking as if relishing some private joke.
- His private joke is annoying me.
- Melford, now he had tasted blood, seemed to be revelling in some private joke.
- They were laughing into each other's faces at some private joke; they hadn't seen me.
- Throughout they appeared to be sharing some private joke.
- We feel like a family, with private jokes to share, a history.
- A man whose name is so synonymous with a suntan that it is a running joke in Doonesbury?
- An even longer running battle was fought in the royal dockyards.
- As well as his running battle with Monkou, he left stud marks on defender Richard Hall.
- I was not told, when we left, that I should have to fight a running battle with four hundred horsemen.
- In the resulting confrontation several hundred Mohawks armed with clubs and guns fought running battles with police.
- Police and demonstrators regularly engage in running battles near Mr Suharto's home in central Jakarta.
- The fighters quickly pursued them and eventually shot down every one in a running battle.
- They saw graffiti on important public memorials and they saw running battles with the police.
- A bad mistake, as this became a standing joke for the rest of the week.
- He'd been so much taller than her for such a long time that it had become a standing joke.
- It became a standing joke that we would eventually work together, and then one day it became serious.
- It had been a standing joke.
- It is a standing joke between them, he hopes, how sophisticated their boy is.
- It was something of a standing joke that she lived up to her Libran indecisiveness.
- These stocks of knowledge can be altered by interactions, through negotiation.
- This ties in with the notion of the negotiable nature of people's stocks of knowledge.
WORD FAMILYnounjokejokerjokinessjocularityadverbjokinglyjokilyjocularlyadjectivejokeyjocularverbjoke
1to say things that are intended to be funny and that you do not really meanjoke about I never joke about money.joke with As we left the hospital, he joked with the staff.joke that His father joked that his son was trying to put him out of business. Calm down, Jo, I was only joking.2you’re joking/you must be joking (also you’ve got to be joking) spoken used to tell someone that what they are suggesting is so strange or silly that you cannot believe that they are serious: ‘Tell him.’ ‘You must be joking – he’d never believe me.’3joking apart/aside British English used before you say something serious after you have been joking—jokingly adverb