Lexic.us

Definition of Prank

1. Noun. Acting like a clown or buffoon.

2. Verb. Dress or decorate showily or gaudily. "Roses were pranking the lawn"

3. Noun. A ludicrous or grotesque act done for fun and amusement.

4. Verb. Dress up showily. "He pranked himself out in his best clothes"

Definition of Prank

1. v. t. To adorn in a showy manner; to dress or equip ostentatiously; -- often followed by up; as, to prank up the body. See Prink.

2. v. i. To make ostentatious show.

3. n. A gay or sportive action; a ludicrous, merry, or mischievous trick; a caper; a frolic.

4. a. Full of gambols or tricks.

Definition of Prank

1. Noun. (obsolete) An evil deed; a malicious trick, an act of cruel deception. ¹

2. Noun. A practical joke or mischievous trick. ¹

3. Verb. (transitive) To adorn in a showy manner; to dress or equip ostentatiously. ¹

4. Verb. (transitive) To perform a practical joke on; to trick. ¹

5. Verb. (transitive slang) To call someone's phone and promptly hang up ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Prank

1. to adorn gaudily [v -ED, -ING, -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Prank

pranck prancke prancked pranckes prancking prancks prancy prandial prang prang up

pranged pranging prangos prangs pranic prank (current term) prank call prank calls pranked prankee

prankees pranker prankers prankful prankier prankiest pranking prankings prankish prankishly

Literary usage of Prank

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. A Dictionary of English Etymology by Hensleigh Wedgwood (1862)
"A prank is commonly taken in a bad sense, and signifies something done in the ... It is possible, however, that in this sense prank has a different origin. ..."

2. The Anatomy of Melancholy: What it Is, with All the Kinds, Causes, Symptoms by Robert Burton (1862)
"... he did begin to prank himself, To plait and comb his head, and beard to shave, And look his face i' th' water as a glass, And to compose himself for to ..."

3. The Anatomy of melancholy v. 3 by Robert Burton (1875)
"And then he did begin to prank himself, To plait and comb his head, and beard to shave, And look his face i' th' water as a glass, And to compose himself ..."

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