1
as in joke
something said or done to cause laughter
the movie featured a gag involving a chicken driving a car that audiences thought was hysterically funny
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2
as in prank
a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke
played a gag on their teammate by putting shaving cream in his hat
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
2
3
as in to joke
to make jokes
the actor typically mugs and gags through his movies, but in his latest vehicle he plays it straight
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of gag
Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
The Challenge winner Ashley Mitchell and Selling Sunset star Christine Quinn struggle to scream while wearing ball gags in their mouths.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Jan. 2026
Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025
Since the very first moment that Natasha Rothwell gagged us all on Insecure, real ones have known that she was meant to headline a punchy comedy.
—Ew Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gag
Noun
So many songs, poems, novels, films, and gags.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
The Challenge winner Ashley Mitchell and Selling Sunset star Christine Quinn struggle to scream while wearing ball gags in their mouths.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Jan. 2026
Verb
Tressa Lynn Pettibone, 33, had been beaten, tied up, gagged and fatally stabbed twice in the neck and once in the side.
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025
Since the very first moment that Natasha Rothwell gagged us all on Insecure, real ones have known that she was meant to headline a punchy comedy.
—Ew Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gag
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gag
Noun
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Talk about the weather, add some jokes in there about some of the guys on the team and just stuff like that.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
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The event, held at the Montana Hotel in Pétion-Ville, was the butt of jokes on social media amid questions over the group’s authority to act.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Broken eggs placed in bed as a prank are an excuse for Heathcliff to let the goo drip suggestively across his calloused hand.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
11 Feb. 2026
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Years of insults and diss tracks and pranks and social media posts have followed, with small islands of peace floating by from time to time.—
Assistant Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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People can experience stomach cramping, nausea, diarrhea or vomiting within 24 hours after ingesting a toxic mushroom and the situation can quickly deteriorate after that, experts say.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Feb. 2026
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People can have stomach cramping, nausea, diarrhea or vomiting within 24 hours after ingesting a toxic mushroom and the situation can quickly deteriorate after that, experts say.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Israeli settler violence and settlement expansion has grown, and daily Palestinian life has been choked by movement restrictions and military raids.—
Daniel Estrin,
NPR,
13 Feb. 2026
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The partygoers don’t really know how to react until Stab interrupts the performance to choke Kid out, and then everyone becomes horrified.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Fifteen years later, Black is having the last laugh.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
13 Feb. 2026
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Seekers of Infinite Love balances big laughs with big feelings, and the cast delivers in a way that makes the film both distinctive and relatable.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Seven of the 12 finalists fell in their first run in snowy conditions, which made landing tricks more of a challenge.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
13 Feb. 2026
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Van Der Beek, twisting his remarkable life into a piece of comedy, pulled the same kind of trick.—
Megan Garber,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Cole follows up with a joking request to appear on an interlude on the forthcoming project, then asks whether West could send him a care package of clothes — which West agrees to — before exiting the stage.—
Jessica Lynch,
Billboard,
28 Dec. 2025
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Our poll’s options include a joking reference to Dan Marino.—
Greg Cote
December 20,
Miami Herald,
20 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gag.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gag. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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