joint

American  

[joint] / dʒɔɪnt /

noun

1. the place at which two things, or separate parts of one thing, are joined or united, either rigidly or in such a way as to permit motion; juncture.

2. a connection between pieces of wood, metal, or the like, often reinforced with nails, screws, or glue.

3. Anatomy, Zoology.

   1. the movable or fixed place or part where two bones or elements of a skeleton join.

   2. the form or structure of such a part, as a ball-and-socket, hinge, pivot, etc.

4. Chiefly British. one of the large portions into which a section of meat is divided by a butcher, as the shoulder or leg, especially as served at a dining table.

5. Also called jay.  Slang. a marijuana cigarette.

6. Slang.

   1. a dirty, cheap, or disreputable place of public accommodation or entertainment, especially a restaurant or nightclub.

   2. a place or establishment, as a hotel, restaurant, etc..

      We stayed in a very classy joint near the ocean.

7. Biology.

   1. a part, especially of a plant, insect, etc., connected with another part by an articulation, node, or the like.

   2. a portion between two articulations, nodes, or the like.

8. Botany. the part of a stem from which a branch or leaf grows; node.

9. Geology. a fracture plane in rocks, generally at right angles to the bedding of sedimentary rocks and variously oriented in igneous and metamorphic rocks, commonly arranged in two or more sets of parallel intersecting systems.

10. Mathematics. knot.

11. Slang. the joint, prison.

    He got out of the joint just before Christmas.

12. Slang: Vulgar. penis.

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adjective

1. shared by or common to two or more.

   a joint obligation.

2. undertaken or produced by two or more in conjunction or in common.

   a joint reply; a joint effort.

   Synonyms:

   collaborative, combined, united

3. sharing or acting in common.

   joint members of a committee.

4. joined or associated, as in relation, interest, or action.

   joint owners.

5. Law. joined together in obligation or ownership.

   joint heirs.

6. of or relating to both branches of a bicameral legislature.

7. pertaining to or noting diplomatic action in which two or more governments are formally united.

verb (used with object)

1. to unite by a joint or joints.

2. to form or provide with a joint or joints.

3. to cut (a fowl, piece of meat, etc.) at the joint; divide at a joint; separate into pieces at the joints.

   to joint a chicken.

4. Carpentry.

   1. to prepare (a board or the like) for fitting in a joint.

   2. to true the bottom of (a wooden plane body) to allow even movement along the surface of the work.

5. to file the teeth of (a saw) to uniform height.

6. Masonry. to finish (a mortar joint), as by striking.

verb (used without object)

1. to fit together by or as if by joints.

   The cinder blocks jointed neatly.

idioms

1. out of joint,

   1. dislocated, as a bone.

   2. in an unfavorable state; inauspicious.

      The time is out of joint.

   3. out of keeping; inappropriate.

      Such behavior seems wholly out of joint with their fine upbringing.

joint British  

/ dʒɔɪnt /

noun

1. a junction of two or more parts or objects

2. the part or space between two such junctions

3. anatomy the junction between two or more bones, usually formed of connective tissue and cartilage

4. the point of connection between movable parts in invertebrates, esp insects and other arthropods

5. the part of a plant stem from which a branch or leaf grows

6. one of the parts into which a carcass of meat is cut by the butcher, esp for roasting

7. geology a crack in a rock along which no displacement has occurred

8. slang

   1. a disreputable establishment, such as a bar or nightclub

   2. facetious a dwelling or meeting place

9. slang a cannabis cigarette

10. 1. dislocated

    2. out of order or disorganized

11. See nose

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adjective

1. shared by or belonging to two or more

   joint property

2. created by combined effort

3. sharing with others or with one another

   joint rulers

4. law (of persons) combined in ownership or obligation; regarded as a single entity in law

verb

1. to provide with or fasten by a joint or joints

2. to plane the edge of (a board, etc) into the correct shape for a joint

3. to cut or divide (meat, fowl, etc) into joints or at a joint

joint Scientific  

/ joint /

1. Anatomy A usually movable body part in which adjacent bones are joined by ligaments and other fibrous tissues.

2. Anatomy See also ball-and-socket joint hinge joint

3. Zoology A point in the exoskeleton of an invertebrate at which movable parts join, as along the leg of an arthropod.

4. Botany A point on a plant stem from which a leaf or branch grows.

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joint More Idioms  

1. see nose out of joint; out of joint.

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Other Word Forms

• jointly adverb
• subjoint noun

Etymology

Origin of joint

1250–1300; 1900–05 joint for def. 6; Middle English < Old French joint, jointe < Latin junctum, juncta, neuter and feminine of junctus (past participle of jungere “to join”), equivalent to jung- join + -tus past participle suffix

Explanation

Whether it’s the bones making up a skeleton or the wooden sections on your breakfast table, the point where two things come together is called a joint. The noun joint came into English through the French word joindre, meaning “to join.” Use joint to describe the point where two things connect, or join. A joint on your body allows for movement — you can look at your finger to see how that works. As an adjective, joint means "combined," like a joint gift to someone that was purchased with money combined from two or more people.

Example Sentences

Only Serie A side Bologna, who were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Villa, beat Forest in each of those three categories, while striker Igor Jesus is the competition's seven-goal joint top scorer.

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026

It was the first time the joint U.S.-Israel-developed system had been sent to another country.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

Adding to Rivian’s cash is $1 billion from partner Volkswagen XE:VOW after the companies’ joint venture completed winter weather testing of their “software-defined vehicles.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026

This leads to pain, swelling, and difficulty moving the joint.

From Science Daily • Apr. 30, 2026

“They’ve seized our house and most of our assets, from what I can tell. Our joint accounts are frozen at the moment.”

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Related Words

• collective
• concerted
• cooperative