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# prank

«prank» in Mova's school dictionary: **a trick played on someone to make people laugh** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a prank, pranks); verb (prank, pranks, pranked, pranking — informal)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A prank is a trick played on someone to make people laugh. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prank/#m1)

2) To prank someone means to play such a trick on them. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prank/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In lessons about truth and tricks, a good prank is harmless and the person tricked can laugh too, like on April Fools' Day; a prank becomes unkind or dangerous when it hurts, scares, embarrasses or bullies someone (pulling a chair away, prank calls to emergency numbers, pranks with food allergies). In stories pranks show cheeky or mischievous characters. Phrases: play a prank on, prank call, April Fools' prank.

### examples

- My brother played a prank on me and put a rubber spider in my bed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prank/#x1)
- We laughed at the April Fools' Day prank. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prank/#x2)
- A prank that hurts someone is not funny. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prank/#x3)
- Never make prank calls to emergency numbers. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prank/#x4)
- He pranked his dad by hiding his slippers. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prank/#x5)
- Pulling a chair away as someone sits down is a dangerous prank. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prank/#x6)
- The class clown loved pranks. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prank/#x7)
- If a prank upsets someone, say sorry. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prank/#x8)
- He sent them into the woods and fields, but instead of looking for a nest they only played pranks on him. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prank/#x9)

### note

Countable: pranks. «Play a prank on someone». A prank is not the same as bullying, but repeated pranks against the same person to upset them are bullying. Calling emergency services as a prank is against the law in many places and can stop real emergencies getting help.

### In the corpora

- [Prank or silly calls to emergency numbers can stop someone in real danger getting help.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/36-calling-emergency-services/23/)
- [Before any prank, ask: Could anyone get hurt?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/204-pranks/2/)
- [A prank that hurts someone is no longer a joke.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/204-pranks/13/)
- [A harmless prank is one where everyone laughs, including the person pranked, and nobody is harmed.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/204-pranks/17/)
- [A prank that spoils someone's food or day is not funny to them.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/204-pranks/18/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «prank» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prank/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.