prank

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prank

/pɹæŋk/ US, UK
[ˈpɹʷæŋk] US, UK
/pɹaŋk/ British, Northern England, Southern
/pɾaŋk/ Scotland, Wales
/pɹeɪ̯ŋk/
[ˈpɹʷeɪ̯ŋk] ~ [ˈpɹʷɛ̃ŋk]
/pɹæːŋk/ Australia
[ˈpɹʷæːŋk] Australia
[ˈpɹʷɛːŋk] ~ [ˈpɹʷeːŋk] Australia
/pɹɛŋk/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -æŋk

Where it comes from

Origin uncertain. Perhaps from Middle English pranken (“to adorn, arrange one's attire”), probably from Middle Dutch pronken, proncken (“to flaunt, make a show, arrange one's attire”), related to German prangen (“to make a show, be resplendent”), Dutch prangen (“to squeeze, press”), Danish pragt (“pomp, splendor”), all from Proto-Germanic *pranganą, *prangijaną, *prag- (“to press, squeeze, thring”), from Proto-Indo-European *brengʰ- (“to press, squeeze”). Or, perhaps ultimately related to Proto-Germanic *brahtaz, similar to Dutch pracht (“splendor”), Swedish prakt (“glory, pomp”) (loaned from Low German).

Cognate with Middle Low German prunken (“to flaunt”), German prunken (“to flaunt”), Danish prunke (“to make a show, prank”). Sense of "mischievous act" from earlier verbal sense of "to be crafty or subtle, set in order, adjust". See also prink, prance, prong.

noun pranks

A practical joke or mischievous trick. play a prank
obsolete An evil deed; a malicious trick, an act of cruel deception. She played a cruel prank on him.

verb pranks · pranking · pranked · prankt

transitive To perform a practical joke on; to trick and make a fool of someone. “If someone’s pranking me,” Rowlands remembered thinking, “they’re going to great lengths to make it work.”
transitive To make a prank call to (someone).
slang, transitive To call someone's phone and hang up before they answer, so as to send them a notification (of a missed call) without incurring fees. Hey man, prank me when you wanna get picked up.
Similar: missed call
archaic, transitive To adorn in a showy manner; to dress or equip ostentatiously. In sumptuous tire she ioyd her selfe to prancke
intransitive To make an ostentatious show. White houses prank where once were huts.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: antic, joke, clowning, caper, buffoonery, frivolity, trick, harlequinade, kidding, jest, jape, banter, mockery, joking, travesty, funny

noun

Translations

Every language

noun practical joke or mischievous trick

Español	travesura, broma, inocentada, jaimitada, diablura, picardía
한국어	장난 jangnan, 농담 nongdam
日本語	悪戯 itazura, 悪ふざけ warufuzake, どっきり dokkiri
中文	惡作劇 /恶作剧 èzuòjù
हिन्दी	लंगराई laṅgrāī
Português	travessura, trote, pegadinha
Français	farce, tour
Deutsch	Streich, Schabernack
Italiano	burla, beffa, vigliaccata, scherzo meschino
Ελληνικά	φάρσα fársa
Română	farsă, poznă
Русский	вы́ходка výxodka, прока́за prokáza, ша́лость šálostʹ, проде́лка prodélka, шу́тка šútka, пранк prank
Tiếng Việt	trò chơi khăm
العربية	مَقْلَب maqlab
עברית	מְתִיחָה metikhá

verb perform a joke on

Español	embromar, chancear, guasear, jaranear, cabulear, gastarle una broma a
Deutsch	veralbern, veräppeln
Română	păcăli, trage pe sfoară
Tiếng Việt	chơi khăm

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MLA

"prank." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/prank. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

prank. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/prank

Chicago

"prank." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/prank.

BibTeX

@misc{prank_2026,
  title = {prank},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/prank},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}