jest

1 of 2

noun

ˈjest 

1

: a joking or mocking remark

a clever jest

2

a

: prank

b

: a ludicrous circumstance or incident

a proper jest, and never heard before, that Suffolk should demand a whole fifteenth for costs and charges

—William Shakespeare

3

a

: a frivolous mood or manner

—usually used with in

spoken in jest

b

: gaiety and merriment

I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of excellent fancy

—William Shakespeare

4

: laughingstock

jest

2 of 2

verb

jested; jesting

intransitive verb

formal, dated

: to make jokes or jests : to say things intended to be humorous

"What's it like to design a building and have an apartment in it and have your name on it?" the architect asks, jesting, with his typically irrepressible energy. "It's like a hat trick."

—Philip Nobel

You voted for him? Surely you jest. [=you must be joking]

Synonyms

Noun

• fun
• game
• play
• sport

Verb

• banter
• chaff
• fool
• fun
• gag
• jape
• jive
• joke
• jolly
• josh
• kid
• quip
• wisecrack
• yuk [slang]
• yuck

Choose the Right Synonym for jest

fun, jest, sport, game, play mean action or speech that provides amusement or arouses laughter.

fun usually implies laughter or gaiety but may imply merely a lack of serious or ulterior purpose.

played cards just for fun

jest implies lack of earnestness and may suggest a hoaxing or teasing.

hurt by remarks said only in jest

sport applies especially to the arousing of laughter against someone.

teasing begun in sport led to anger

game is close to sport, and often stresses mischievous or malicious fun.

made game of their poor relations

play stresses the opposition to earnest without implying any malice or mischief.

pretended to strangle his brother in play

Examples of jest in a Sentence

Noun

It was a harmless jest.

you should know that our teasing was done entirely in jest

Verb

when I asked my sister for a loan, she laughingly replied, "Surely you jest!"

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Ruining an otherwise great moment with an awkward comment or inappropriate jest is something many people can relate to — and has since become a viral TikTok trend. —Sara Belcher, People.com, 26 Oct. 2024

The comments varied in content, jest and vulgarity, with some criticizing the franchise owner for hosting the Trump campaign. —Cj Haddad, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2024

Verb

While Black jested about the possibility of a sequel in his video, the concept has come up in the past. —Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 26 Sep. 2024

At a Foo Fighters concert last weekend, the Nirvana alum appeared to jest that the pop star doesn’t perform live at her own shows. —Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 27 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English gest, geste, jeste "chivalric romance, tale, heroic deed, exploit, action, amusement," borrowed from Anglo-French geste "heroic deed, romance, tale," borrowed from Latin gesta "deeds, exploits," plural of gestum "something carried out," noun derivative from neuter of gestus, past participle of gerere "to carry, bear, conduct one's business, act, perform, do," from a verb stem ges- of uncertain origin

Note: The current senses of jest date from the 16th century. The Latin verb stem ges- is without evident Indo-European congeners. An old suggestion that it derives from *h₂ǵ-es-, an extended form containing the zero grade of *h₂eǵ- "drive" (see agent) has been revived (as, for example, by Michiel de Vaan in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italic Languages, Brill, 2008; the original suggestion was by Hermann Osthoff in Beiträge zur Kunde der indogermanischen Sprachen, Band 19 [1893], pp. 320-22.) Parallel formations adduced by Osthoff are, however, questionable, as *u̯es- (see wear entry 1) from *eu̯- "put on (footwear)," not possible if the root is actually *h₂eu̯(H)- (see exuviae). Latin ger- is unlikely to have any relation to Old Norse kǫr "heap, pile," kǫstr "pile," kasta "to throw, fling" (see cast entry 1).

Verb

Middle English gesten "to recite romances," derivative of geste "chivalric romance, tale" — more at jest entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1553, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing jest

• in jest
• Surely you jest

Kids Definition

jest

noun

ˈjest 

1

: a comic act or remark : joke

2

: a playful mood or manner

spoken in jest

jest verb formal