kidkid2 ●●○ verb (past tense and past participle kidded, present participle kidding) informal 
Don’t get mad – I was only kidding.2[transitive] to make jokes or say funny things about someone in a friendly way SYN teasekid somebody about something We were kidding Mom about being a grandmother.kid somebody (that) My friends kidded me that my gear would fill the car.3no kidding?/are you kidding?/you’re kidding spoken used when you are so surprised by what someone has told you that you do not completely believe them: Carlotta’s 39? No kidding?4no kidding spoken a)used to say that you understand and agree with what someone has just said: ‘That girl has some major problems.’ ‘Yeah, no kidding.’ b)used to emphasize a threat or that you are telling the truth: If you break that thing, you’ll be grounded for a week – no kidding. And then he saw us and – no kidding – he asked us if we wanted a ride.5[transitive] to let yourself believe something that is untrue or unlikelykid yourself (that) Don’t kid yourself he’ll ever change. We thought we could change the world. Just who were we trying to kid?6I kid you not spoken used to emphasize that you are telling the truth—kidding noun [uncountable]kid around phrasal verb to behave in a silly way: Stop kidding around and listen.
WORD ORIGINkid2
Origin:
1500-1600 Probably from ➔ KID1VERB TABLE
kid
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | kid |
| he, she, it | kids | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | kidded |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have kidded |
| he, she, it | has kidded | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had kidded |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will kid |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have kidded |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am kidding |
| he, she, it | is kidding | |
| you, we, they | are kidding | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was kidding |
| you, we, they | were kidding | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been kidding |
| he, she, it | has been kidding | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been kidding |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be kidding |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been kidding |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- You've got to be kidding me! What do you mean you lost the tickets?
- And who was she trying to kid, anyway? she thought unhappily.
- He tried not to kid himself that he was any longer much of a terror.
- I manage to earwig a conversation between, and I kid you not, two members of Napalm Death.
Longman Language Activatorwhat 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.
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!
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 believe something that is wrong if you are wrong , you think or say something that is not correct: · I thought a holiday in Greece would be cheap, but I was wrong.· Maybe I'm wrong, but I could have sworn the class was at 9.30 a.m.· Why won't he admit he was wrong?be wrong about: · You were wrong about that train - it left at 10.30.be wrong in thinking/believing etc something: · You'd be wrong in thinking we don't encourage disabled students to come to the college.
formal to have an incorrect opinion or belief about something - use this as a polite way of saying someone is wrong: · I thought it was an accident, but I was mistaken.be mistaken about: · Anna realised she had been mistaken about Dennis.you must be mistaken: · I think you must be mistaken. He could not have obtained a key to your room.
to be wrong because you have been given information that is incorrect or untrue: · I think you must have been misinformed -- we don't teach any courses in business studies here.be misinformed about: · The documents clearly show that the public was misled and misinformed about the crisis.
to have the wrong idea about a situation, so that you are unlikely to get the result you want or the right answer to a problem: · I feel that this advertising campaign is on completely the wrong tack.get somebody off on the wrong tack/track: · He admitted that he had gotten us off on the wrong tack, and that we'd need to start again.
to wrongly and stupidly let yourself believe something that you want to believe, but which is not true: · He's kidding himself if he thinks he's going to be a great film director.· Don't delude yourself. They have no intention of offering you a job.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Don’t get mad – I was only kidding. We thought we could change the world. Just who were we trying to kid?COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES jump-up kids (=young people who like this type of music)
Don’t get mad – I was only kidding. We thought we could change the world. Just who were we trying to kid? jump-up kids (=young people who like this type of music) informal (=the newest person in a job, school etc) It’s not always easy being the new kid on the block.
It’s not always easy being the new kid on the block. (=a younger sister)· She was very fond of her little sister.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· Just kidding - I mean the music.· Oops, just kidding about the computer-science professors.· Joey is just kidding, but even I have my limits.· Ha, ha, just kidding.· They looked at me and I said I was just kidding.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► no kidding?/are you kidding?/you’re kidding
1[intransitive, transitive] to say something that is not true, especially as a joke SYN jokejust/only kidding- "Man, physics class is hard!" "No kidding!"
- "She's getting married again." "No kidding?"
- I'm telling you, this guy's as fast as Carl Lewis -- no kidding!
- No kidding? You mean Becky's actually going to Princeton?
- For a while, there was a federal lawsuit being filed even day... no kidding, one a day.
- If you want to get a slice of the action book early - no kidding.
- Me: No kidding, since when?
- No kidding, how about that!
- No kidding, it seems like they always come in pairs-for Patty, I mean.
- I manage to earwig a conversation between, and I kid you not, two members of Napalm Death.
- It really was scary - I kid you not.
- Of jaundiced varnish, wood-smoke, grease, candle-wax, cigarette smoke and fly-shit. I kid you not.
Don’t get mad – I was only kidding.2[transitive] to make jokes or say funny things about someone in a friendly way SYN teasekid somebody about something We were kidding Mom about being a grandmother.kid somebody (that) My friends kidded me that my gear would fill the car.3no kidding?/are you kidding?/you’re kidding spoken used when you are so surprised by what someone has told you that you do not completely believe them: Carlotta’s 39? No kidding?4no kidding spoken a)used to say that you understand and agree with what someone has just said: ‘That girl has some major problems.’ ‘Yeah, no kidding.’ b)used to emphasize a threat or that you are telling the truth: If you break that thing, you’ll be grounded for a week – no kidding. And then he saw us and – no kidding – he asked us if we wanted a ride.5[transitive] to let yourself believe something that is untrue or unlikelykid yourself (that) Don’t kid yourself he’ll ever change. We thought we could change the world. Just who were we trying to kid?6I kid you not spoken used to emphasize that you are telling the truth—kidding noun [uncountable]kid around phrasal verb to behave in a silly way: Stop kidding around and listen.