40 Phrasal Verbs Related to Jokes and Puns

There are 40 simple phrasal verbs related to jokes and puns, with meanings and example sentences:

Break up – To end a relationship.

“They decided to break up after the joke went too far.”

Cheer up – To make someone feel happy.

“I told a funny story to cheer her up.”

Crack up – To laugh a lot.

“Everyone cracked up at his silly pun.”

Come up with – To think of an idea or joke.

“He came up with a hilarious joke.”

Fall for – To be tricked or deceived.

“She fell for his joke about the talking dog.”

Go on – To continue talking.

“He went on and on with jokes at the party.”

Hang around – To stay in a place without doing much.

“I like to hang around with friends and make jokes.”

Happen to – To do something by chance.

“I happened to hear a funny pun yesterday.”

Kidd around – To joke or tease.

“He’s always kiddin’ around with his friends.”

Laugh off – To ignore something because it’s not serious.

“She laughed off the bad pun.”

Look up to – To admire someone.

“I look up to comedians who make people laugh.”

Make fun of – To laugh at someone in a funny or teasing way.

“They made fun of my outfit, but it was all in good humor.”

Pass off – To pretend something is true as a joke.

“He passed off a fake story as if it were real.”

Pick on – To tease or make fun of.

“Stop picking on me just because I didn’t get the joke.”

Put on – To pretend or act.

“She put on a funny voice to make everyone laugh.”

Set up – To prepare or arrange a joke.

“He set up the punchline perfectly.”

Show off – To try to impress others with your abilities.

“She showed off her quick wit with clever puns.”

Show up – To arrive or appear.

“He showed up just in time for the joke contest.”

Sit around – To do nothing, usually in a relaxed way.

“We sat around telling jokes all evening.”

Take off – To become very popular or successful.

“The comedian’s new pun really took off online.”

Take over – To control or dominate something.

“His jokes took over the whole conversation.”

Think up – To create or imagine something.

“She thought up a joke to make her friends laugh.”

Throw out – To say something in a casual way, often without thinking much.

“He threw out a joke that made everyone laugh.”

Turn out – To happen in a particular way.

“The joke turned out to be funnier than we expected.”

Warm up – To get ready or relaxed before doing something.

“He warmed up with a few jokes before the show.”

Watch out – To be careful or aware of something.

“Watch out for the pun, it’s really cheesy!”

Wind up – To finish or conclude.

“He wound up his speech with a funny punchline.”

Work out – To find a solution or make something work.

“The joke didn’t work out as he planned.”

Break into – To suddenly start doing something, like laughing.

“She broke into laughter after hearing the joke.”

Catch on – To understand something or become popular.

“It took a while, but everyone caught on to the joke.”

Check out – To look at something or examine it.

“Check out this hilarious joke I found online.”

Come across – To seem or appear in a certain way.

“His joke came across as too serious.”

Cut up – To behave in a silly or funny way.

“They were cutting up all night at the comedy club.”

Drop in – To visit without planning.

“I dropped in on my friend and shared a funny story.”

Get across – To communicate an idea or message clearly.

“He got the joke across to the whole group.”

Get over – To recover from something.

“It took me a while to get over the bad pun.”

Go for – To choose something.

“I’ll go for a joke that everyone will enjoy.”

Hold back – To stop yourself from doing something.

“I had to hold back my laughter during the meeting.”

Put up with – To tolerate something, often annoyingly.

“I had to put up with his bad jokes all day.”

Run into – To meet someone by chance.

“I ran into an old friend who loves telling jokes.”