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Meaning of prank in English:

prank

Pronunciation /praŋk/

See synonyms for prank

Translate prank into Spanish

noun

  • A practical joke or mischievous act.

    ‘the tapestry was stolen as part of a drunken student prank’
    • ‘He loved to tease, and numerous times his friends were the victims of his practical pranks.’
    • ‘They were childhood enemies that pulled practical pranks on each other.’
    • ‘The mysterious and loosely knit movement has since spiralled and the group has played a series of hoaxes and pranks on the Italian media.’
    • ‘The local mischiefmakers played numerous pranks, leading to hilarious consequences.’
    • ‘Dad had a great sense of humor and enjoyed pranks and joking around with friends and family.’
    • ‘It has been reported in certain quarters that his actions are a prank or a public-relations stunt.’
    • ‘It almost seemed like a joke, a harmless prank one of his friends had pulled on him.’
    • ‘She used to make me laugh when she told me of the harmless jokes and pranks she played earlier that day.’
    • ‘It would play pranks and tricks on you over and over again until you would get annoyed and irritated.’
    • ‘Since I do not spend my time with childish pranks and games, they don't see me as one of them.’
    • ‘Most of the dares consisted of kissing or stupid stunts and pranks.’
    • ‘Being the younger child, she had always been pampered and now was always up to some pranks and tricks.’
    • ‘Still these biker boys made out such things were mere pranks, a witty jape for a Sunday afternoon.’
    • ‘The game starts out innocently, with the usual childhood pranks and mayhem.’
    • ‘Presumably, they will never be allowed to broadcast this as a part of their show and it raises the issue of how far you can go with pranks on celebrities.’
    • ‘Whether old-fashioned pranks, such as knocking on doors and running away, are still popular, it is hard to tell.’
    • ‘So you would think that I would have learned from being the subject of all these little pranks.’
    • ‘Engineers responsible for the pranks may also be facing academic discipline from the university.’
    • ‘After these pranks, the second volume, covering the war years and their aftermath, was rather a let-down.’
    • ‘The second element, designed to keep the crowd smiling through the serious bits, is a series of pranks.’
    practical joke, trick, mischievous act, piece of mischief, joke, escapade, stunt, caper, jape, game, hoax, antic
    View synonyms

verb

[with object]informal

  • Play a trick or practical joke on (someone)

    • ‘the individuals who were pranked thought they were auditioning to be a TV show host’
    • ‘I bet he never thought he would get such a willing participant when he pranked us.’
    • ‘Personally, I think they need to be pranked.’
    • ‘I had been pranked into calling 911.’
    • ‘An officer nearby said the whole thing was a hoax, a crank caller pranking 911.’
    • ‘The pranking hadn't started again till a few weeks ago.’
    • ‘In addition to the bonfires and community aspect, there seems to be a tradition of pranking and general misbehavior.’
    • ‘There will be no excessive pranking.’
    • ‘Daffy scares everyone with his pranking, but he gets his comeuppance when Granny and the kiddos give him a taste of his own medicine.’
    • ‘We were pranked on the pretense of getting a job.’
    • ‘The 53-year-old silver fox has famously pranked many of his co-stars in the past, including Sandra Bullock and Ryan Gosling.’

Origin

Early 16th century (denoting a wicked deed): of unknown origin.