Something said or done to evoke laughter or amusement, especially an amusing story with a punch line.
A mischievous trick; a prank.
An amusing or ludicrous incident or situation.
Informal
Something not to be taken seriously; a triviality: The accident was no joke.
An object of amusement or laughter; a laughingstock: His loud tie was the joke of the office.
verb: joked, jok·ing, jokes.
intransitive verb
To tell or play jokes; jest.
To speak in fun; be facetious.
transitive verb
To make fun of; tease.
derivatives
joḱing·ly
adverb
synonyms:
joke, jest, witticism, quip, sally, crack, wisecrack, gag These nouns refer to something that is said or done in order to evoke laughter or amusement. Joke especially denotes an amusing story with a punch line at the end: told jokes at the party. Jest suggests frolicsome humor: amusing jests that defused the tense situation. A witticism is a witty, usually cleverly phrased remark: a speech full of witticisms. A quip is a clever, pointed, often sarcastic remark: responded to the tough questions with quips. Sally denotes a sudden quick witticism: ended the debate with a brilliant sally. Crack and wisecrack refer less formally to flippant or sarcastic retorts: made a crack about my driving ability; punished for making wisecracks in class. Gag is principally applicable to a broadly comic remark or to comic by-play in a theatrical routine: one of the most memorable gags in the history of vaudeville.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition