Phrase guide

inside joke

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɪnsaɪd ˌd͡ʒəʊk/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɪnsaɪd ˌd͡ʒoʊk/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A joke that is understood or meant to be understood only by certain people who are aware of the details (an ingroup).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • After the incident with the potato peeler, references to potatoes became an inside joke among the witnesses.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: in-joke, private joke

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: acudit intern — joke understood or meant to be understood by certain people
  • Catalan: broma interna — joke understood or meant to be understood by certain people
  • Chinese Mandarin: 內部笑話 /内部笑话 (nèibùxiàohuà) — joke understood or meant to be understood by certain people
  • Finnish: sisäpiirivitsi — joke understood or meant to be understood by certain people
  • French: blague entre nous — joke understood or meant to be understood by certain people
  • French: private joke — joke understood or meant to be understood by certain people
  • German: Insider — joke understood or meant to be understood by certain people
  • German: Insiderwitz — joke understood or meant to be understood by certain people
  • Icelandic: einkahúmor — joke understood or meant to be understood by certain people
  • Portuguese: piada interna — joke understood or meant to be understood by certain people
  • Spanish: broma local — joke understood or meant to be understood by certain people
  • Spanish: broma privada — joke understood or meant to be understood by certain people
  • Spanish: chiste interno — joke understood or meant to be understood by certain people
  • Spanish: chiste privado — joke understood or meant to be understood by certain people
  • Swedish: internskämt — joke understood or meant to be understood by certain people
  • Turkish: inside joke — joke understood or meant to be understood by certain people