A pun is a play on words that exploits multiple meanings of a term or similar-sounding words for humorous or rhetorical effect. It is one of the oldest and most compact forms of verbal wit.

Shakespeare’s plays are thick with puns, some light and some dark. Modern comedy, advertising, and everyday conversation continue to rely on them. A pun may hinge on homonyms (“a good pun is its own reword”) or on slight differences in sound. The pleasure lies in the simultaneous perception of two meanings and in the momentary surprise of the connection.

Punning has often been regarded as a low form of humor, yet skilled practitioners use it for serious as well as comic ends—to compress an argument, to reveal a character’s quickness, or to underline a thematic double meaning. A forced pun falls flat; a well-timed one feels both clever and inevitable.

When one word is made to do the work of two meanings at once, the result is a pun.