prank /præŋk/ noun [countable]
►a trick, especially one which is played on someone to make them look silly
--Pushing her in the river seemed like a harmless prank, but it ended in tragedy.
Verb used with “prank”: play, pull
Play/pull a prank on sb.
--Every year, the older kids pull pranks on new students.
--If you like to play pranks on people, then you'll love April Fools' Day.
prank /præŋk/ verb
►dress or decorate showily or gaudily
--Roses were pranking the lawn.
►dress up showily
--He pranked himself out in his best clothes.
prankster /’præŋkstə/ noun [countable]
►someone who plays tricks on people to make them look silly
--Is it an emergency, or just a midnight prankster?
prankish /’præŋkɪʃ/ adjective
►naughtily or annoyingly playful
--A prankish husband was mistaken for armed robber.
Synonyms
Joke /ʤok/ noun [countable]
►something that you say or do to make people laugh, especially a funny story or trick
--She wondered if the others were playing a joke on her.
practical joke /ˏpræktɪkl ‘ʤok/ noun [countable]
-- a trick that is intended to give someone a surprise or shock, or to make them look stupid
trick /trɪk/ noun [countable]
►something you do in order to deceive someone
--Pretending he doesn't remember is an old trick of his.
►something you do to surprise someone and to make other people laugh
--I'm getting tired of your silly tricks.
►something that makes things appear to be different from the way really are
--After walking for hours in the hot sun, his mind began playing tricks on him.
►an unkind of unfair thing to do: a dirty/rotten/mean trick
--He didn't turn up? What a dirty trick!
►if something does the trick, it solves a problem or provides what is needed to get a good result: do the trick
--A bit more flour should do the trick.
►a skillful set of actions that seem like magic, done to entertain people : card trick/magic trick
--My uncle was always showing me card tricks when I was a kid.
►a way of doing something that works very well but may not be easy to notice / clever method
--The trick is to bend your knees as you catch the ball.
Word Usage:
►Magic done as entertainment
trick
--For my final trick, I will make this elephant disappear.
►Method/plan/system
trick
--In college, I learned a trick to remember names.
►something that deceives somebody
trick
--Don't send her any money - it might be a trick.
►something that makes things appear different
trick
--At first he thought someone was coming towards him, but it was just a trick of the light.
►something that you do to make people laugh
Joke, practical joke, prank, play a trick/joke/prank
--The girls were playing tricks/jokes/pranks on their teacher.
--I haven’t played any special April fools’ pranks in last couple of years. But when we were kids then, we did really use those regular tricks like tying a string to a wallet and leaving it on the middle of a busy road.
►something you say or write in order to be funny
joke
--Do you want to hear a good joke?
