joke

When you want to laugh with or at someone, you can describe the situation with the word "joke."

You can use this word as a noun:

• Neville told a funny joke in class yesterday.
• Comedians make their living telling jokes to large audiences.
• Do you know any good jokes?
• There were some really funny jokes in that movie.
• Let’s play a joke on the teacher. (This is similar to "Let’s play a trick." A person misleads or fools someone else.)
• This situation is not a joke. It’s very serious.

You can use this word as a verb:

• Bob and Ali like to joke around with each other.
• My friend, Gordon, always jokes about losing his job.
• We all thought Vicky was serious about breaking up with her boyfriend, but she was just joking.
• You shouldn’t joke about other people’s misfortunes.

Sometimes when something is "a joke," the quality or the experience is not good.

• The students think the class is a joke. (It’s not a good or helpful class.)
• His car is a joke. (It’s not a good car.)
• Tom says his supervisor is a joke. (No one takes the person seriously in his position. His abilities as a supervisor are poor.)

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First published on March 21, 2012