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jest

/d͡ʒɛst/verb, adverb

jest is spelled J-E-S-T: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 26,776th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “gest vs jest” about 10 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, jest means “To tell a joke; to talk in a playful manner; to make fun of something or someone” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in jest?

Letters4: J-E-S-T
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing1.1 times per million words; the 26,776th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).

How common is jest?

Jest appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 26,776th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce jest?

  • /d͡ʒɛst/
  • /d͡ʒiːst/

Jest has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-jest.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with jest

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

gest vs jest10 G

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of jest

  • jests present, singular, he/she/it
  • jesting participle, present
  • jested participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does jest mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To tell a joke; to talk in a playful manner; to make fun of something or someone.

    Surely you jest!

noun

  1. 1

    archaicAn act performed for amusement; a joke.

    I made that comment in jest; it wasn't serious.

  2. 2

    archaicSomeone or something that is ridiculed; the target of a joke.

    Your majesty, stop him before he makes you the jest of the court.

  3. 3

    obsoleteA deed; an action; a gest.

  4. 4

    obsoleteA mask; a pageant; an interlude.

adverb

  1. 1

    Pronunciation spelling of just.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Jest in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchblague (joke), risée (target of a joke), plaisanter, blaguer (to tell a joke)
GermanWitz, Scherz (joke), Witzfigur (target of a joke), scherzen, herumalbern, albern (to tell a joke)
Portuguesegracejo, piada (joke), gracejar (to tell a joke)
Spanishbroma, chiste (joke), bromear, bufonear (to tell a joke)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does jest come from?

From Middle English geste (“idle tale”), from Old French geste (“acts, exploits”), from Latin gesta (“acts, deeds”). Doublet of gest.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after jest