n.
Pronunciation: ' j ō -k ə r
Function: noun
Date: 1729
1 a : a person given to joking : WAG b : FELLOW , GUY especially : an insignificant, obnoxious, or incompetent person <a shame to let a joker like this win ― Harold Robbins>
2 : a playing card added to a pack as a wild card or as the highest-ranking card
3 a (1) : an ambiguous or apparently immaterial clause inserted in a legislative bill to make it inoperative or uncertain in some respect (2) : an unsuspected, misleading, or misunderstood clause, phrase, or word in a document that nullifies or greatly alters it b : something (as an expedient or stratagem) held in reserve to gain an end or escape from a predicament c : an unsuspected or not readily apparent fact, factor, or condition that thwarts or nullifies a seeming advantage