from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. One who tells or plays jokes.
- n. An insolent person who seeks to make a show of cleverness.
- n. Informal An annoying or inept person: Some joker is blocking my driveway.
- n. Games A playing card, usually printed with a picture of a jester, used in certain games as the highest-ranking card or as a wild card.
- n. A minor clause in a document such as a legislative bill that voids or changes its original or intended purpose.
- n. An unforeseen but important difficulty, fact, or circumstance.
- n. A deceptive means of getting the better of someone.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. A person who makes jokes.
- n. A funny person.
- n. A jester.
- n. A playing card that features a picture of a joker (that is, a jester) and that may be used as a wild card in some card games.
- n. An unspecified, vaguely disreputable person.
- n. A man.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. One who makes jokes or jests.
- n. See Best bower, under 2d Bower.
- n. An extra card usually included in a deck of playing cards, having the same design as the others on the back, but on the face having a picture of a jester. It is not included in the deck used in most games, but in certain games may be included and then takes on a special value, such as the highest-valued card, or a wild card.
- n. A clause placed in a document, such as a contract or a piece of legislation, not itself appearing significant, but in a subtle way substantially changing the effect of the document.
- n. Any fact or condition which is unknown or not apparent, which reverses an apparently advantageous position; a kicker.
- n. A person; a fellow; a chap; -- usually used in a mildly disparaging sense.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. One who jokes, in speech or in deed; a jester; a merry fellow.
- n. A playing-card, either blank or having some comical or other special device, added to a pack, and used in some games, as in euchre. It is always a trump, and generally the highest trump. Often called jolly joker.
- n. Figuratively, something concealed that wins the game; a trick under an innocent guise: as, a joker in a legislative bill.