private joke

noun

: a joke only understood by the few people who know what it refers to

Examples of private joke in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The 16-year-old was expelled and charged with threatening mass violence, even though his school acknowledged the video was intended as a private joke. — Aliyya Swaby, ProPublica, 25 Sep. 2024 However, the unexpected theme certainly had an impact on the public, especially those who were not in on the private joke. — Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 28 Jan. 2026 Eating and cooking and walking have become elevated pleasures, as have the dance-like dynamic of a really good conversation or the intimacy of a long-running private joke. — Stephanie Sy-Quia, Vogue, 14 Apr. 2026 This gallows humor amounts to a national private joke — perhaps never intended to be taken seriously (not with characters named Dementus, Scrotus, and Rictus Erectus) except by comic-book fanatics emboldened by cinematic representation. — Armond White, National Review, 24 May 2024

Rhymes for private joke

See All Rhymes for private joke

Browse Nearby Words

private investigator
private joke
private judge
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Private joke.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/private%20joke. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All