to joke around
40
2.4
- phrasal verb
- /ˈjoʊk əˈraʊnd/
- Informal
:
bromear
- Oh, I was just-- just joking around.
- just joking around
- laugh and joke around
- joke around a lot
You know, this isn't haha, I'm not here to, you know, joke around.
- You know, this isn't haha, I'm not here to, you know, joke around.
- And then at the same time, as I'm relating to people by kind of joking around, I'm asking all of the questions that I need to know.
- Hackworth wouldn't like laugh and joke around with the troops for six weeks.
- Like me and my, my brother, we joke around like always, like every day.
- They're usually joking around and they're dark jokes.
- Stop joke around playing, you know, with people.
- And clever remarks are fine if you want to joke around, if you want to engage in meaning.
- Some young guy, you know, some guys are joking around.
- This is a total guess based on what I think people might joke around with him.
Examples
-
We started talking and joking around.
Fiction book (1993) -
Successful flirting for me usually looks more like joking around and hanging out.
Blog text (5) -
Like me and my, my brother, we joke around like always, like every day.
-
So sometimes joking around can get us into trouble.
-
Me and Steve were just joking around, huh?
-
Come on, stop joking around.
-
We come to the field every day having fun and joking around.
Blog text (7) -
That's the way friends joke around.
-
Members of Vale's student body, which is predominantly black and Hispanic, talk, laugh, yell, and joke around.
Academic text (2013) -
After a long day at work, we like to joke around to relieve stress.
Synonyms
476
1.0
To say or do something to make people laugh
46
3.6
Act in a silly, playful way instead of working
19
5.1
Act in a playful, joking way without being serious
13
1.6
Enjoy something funny and laugh with others
11
5.7
To say or do something as a joke to make people laugh
9
4.6
To tease someone in a friendly, playful way
9
4.8
To act silly and playful to make people laugh
1
8.1
To play and joke in a silly way and sometimes cause trouble
Take part in friendly playful talk that makes jokes and teases
Talk in a relaxed, joking way and make stories bigger to be funny
To act in a silly, playful way instead of being serious
How Playful
- Informal
7
6.3
- Informal
46
3.6
- Informal
40
2.4
- Informal
9
4.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to engage in playful or lighthearted conversation' is directly derivable from combining 'joke' (to act or speak playfully) with the particle 'around', which conveys casual, aimless, or non-serious activity. This verb+particle pattern is common and compositional in English (cf. 'mess around', 'fool around'), so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The phrasal verb joke around comes from the image of people passing a joke around a room, laughing and not being serious. That's why it means 'to have fun and not take things seriously'.