Verb: play a joke on
- Deceive somebody
"They played a joke on their friend by hiding his keys";
- flimflam [informal], play tricks, trick, fob [archaic], fox, pull a fast one on [informal], play a trick on, hose [N. Amer, informal], pull a fast one [informal], take for a ride [informal], sucker [N. Amer, informal]
- Subject to a playful hoax or joke
"The pranksters played a joke on their friends with a fake lottery win announcement";
- hoax, pull someone's leg [informal], prank
Derived forms: played a joke on, playing a joke on, plays a joke on