pun1 nounpun2 verb
punpun1 /pʌn/ ●●○ noun [countable] 
WORD ORIGINpun1
Origin:
1600-1700 Probably from pundigrion ‘pun’ (17-19 centuries), perhaps from Italian puntiglio; ➔ PUNCTILIOUSEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- "Pardon the pun, but we were all in the same boat," said Navy lieutenant Green.
- "Seven days without food makes one weak'' is a pun on the words "week'' and "weak'', and also on the different meanings of "one''.
- The audience groaned at his pun.
- Among the devices he used were puns.
- And we do, I mean, we both do, we both make a lot of unintentional puns, uh.
- Dreams are puns on words and situations in the engram bank.
- Drinks in hand, the crowd around me erupted with groans of exasperation, the kind usually reserved for terrible puns.
- He made a pun on it for the title of his revue Cranks.
- Instead of charging bulls, Professor Ito bravely faces a barrage of puns.
- Political problems which might have stymied Solomon were resolved in a pun or an epigram.
- Waterhouse is given to such puns.
THESAURUS
a funny story that you tell people to make them laugh: · We all sat around telling jokes.· Have you heard the joke about the man who found a frog in his soup?
a short story that someone tells to make people laugh: · He was one of those guys who are good at telling funny stories at dinner parties.
a short joke, especially one told by a professional entertainer: · He’s a great comedian, with plenty of good gags.
a very short joke or funny remark: · There are some memorable one-liners in the film.
a funny remark or reply, especially one that is said in a very quick and clever way: · It’s a comic masterpiece, packed with classic wisecracks.
(also play on words) a joke made by mixing up two different meanings of the same word, or two words with the same sound: · a pun on the words ‘bear’ and ‘bare’· The title of the book is a witty play on words.· Shakespeare used a lot of puns for comic effect.
written something funny and clever that someone says: · He made some friendly quip about hair loss, and everyone laughed.
Longman Language Activatorsomething you say or write in order to be funny · Have you heard any good jokes lately?· Wilson spoke for about 15 minutes, peppering his mainly serious message with jokes.joke about · Leno opened the show with a joke about the election.get the jokealso see a joke British (=understand a joke) · It wasn't that I didn't get the joke - I just didn't think it was funny.· Everyone laughed except Mr Broadbent, who didn't see the joke.tell a joke · It's a good idea to start a speech by telling a joke.dirty joke (=one about sex) · In some situations, a dirty joke can be considered sexual harassment.private joke (=a secret joke) · The two girls were whispering in the corner and giggling over some private joke.
a short story you tell to make people laugh: · It reminded her of a funny story she'd heard at work.tell a funny story: · He began telling funny stories about the time he worked as a barman on a cruise ship.
informal something funny that someone says to try to make people laugh - use this especially when what they say annoys you: · Bob Hope would keep his audience laughing with an endless stream of jokes and wisecracks.· Amy responded with a wisecrack that got her in big trouble with the teacher.
a short remark that is funny and clever: · There are some memorable one-liners in every Woody Allen film.· It's a hilarious scene with a succession of brilliant one-liners from Groucho Marx.
a short joke, especially one told by a professional entertainer as part of a show: · His first job was writing gags for a famous comedian.gag about: · He started the show with a few old gags about mothers-in-law.
the sentence or phrase that comes at the end of a joke, and makes it funny: · He got to the end of the joke and couldn't remember the punch line.· I waited for the punch line, but it never came.
spoken say this when you are going to tell someone a joke about a particular subject: · Have you heard the one about the brown cow who goes into a bar?
a joke made by deliberately mixing up or mistaking two different meanings of the same word or two words with the same sound: · "Seven days without food makes one weak'' is a pun on the words "week'' and "weak'', and also on the different meanings of "one''.· The audience groaned at his pun.(if you'll) pardon the pun (=used to say that you know what you are going to say has two meanings): · "Pardon the pun, but we were all in the same boat," said Navy Lieutenant Green.
a joke made by deliberately using a word or phrase that has two possible meanings, one of which is about sex or sexual parts of the body: · Dirty jokes and double meanings are what makes the show funny.· The song's lyrics are full of double entendres.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY
an amusing use of a word or phrase that has two meanings, or of words that have the same sound but different meanings SYN play on wordsforgive/excuse/pardon the pun (=used to show you know you are making a pun)no pun intended (=used to show you do not mean to make a joke about something) (=used to show you know you are making a pun)
(=used to show you do not mean to make a joke about something)
The clergy prey (no pun intended) on bereaved families.
The clergy prey (no pun intended) on bereaved families. The clergy prey (no pun intended) on bereaved families.pun1 nounpun2 verb
punpun2 verb (past tense and past participle punned, present participle punning) [intransitive] to make a punpun on In this line, Hamlet puns on the meaning of ‘saw’.