dad joke
/dæd dʒoʊk/
Very CommonA wholesome, corny pun or one-liner that is deliberately obvious and groan-worthy.
Not mean-spirited. The groaning is part of the ritual. Can be used with affection or light mockery, but almost never has real edge.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Why can't a bicycle stand on its own? It's two-tired. Classic dad joke. | The pun is so predictable and corny it fully fits the category. | reddit, 2023 |
| 02 | My coworker just did a dad joke in the all-hands and the whole room groaned. He seemed proud. | The person made a corny joke and the reaction validated it as a proper dad joke. | x, 2024 |
| 03 | I used to hate dad jokes and now I am the one telling them. It happened slowly then all at once. | The speaker became the type of person they once mocked, a rite of passage framing. | tiktok, 2024 |
| 04 | He told a dad joke at his own wedding toast and the whole room groaned then clapped. Peak him. | The joke landed exactly as a dad joke should, groan plus affection. | instagram, 2023 |
Use it when
- Someone tells a pun that is deliberately corny and prompts a groan.
- Someone makes a safe, clean joke that relies on obvious wordplay.
- You are affectionately calling someone out for their predictably unfunny humor.
Do not use it when
- The joke is edgy, offensive, or has any mean-spirited target.
- The joke is genuinely clever or subversive.
Origin and context
The phrase appeared in print in the 1980s but spread widely online in the 2010s. Reddit's r/dadjokes community, created in 2011, became a major hub that shaped the format and solidified the term.
- First seen
- 1980s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/dad-jokeUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0