the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation.
She felt the joy of seeing her son's success.
a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated.
Her prose style is a pure joy.
the expression or display of glad feeling; festive gaiety.
a state of happiness or felicity.
a deep feeling or condition of happiness or contentment
something causing such a feeling; a source of happiness
an outward show of pleasure or delight; rejoicing
informal success; satisfaction
I went to the bank for a loan, but got no joy
(intr) to feel joy
obsolete (tr) to make joyful; gladden
See pleasure.
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English joy(e), from Old French joie, joye, from Late Latin gaudia, neuter plural (taken as feminine singular) of Latin gaudium “joy,” equivalent to gaud- (base of gaudēre “to be glad”) + -ium -ium
Joy is the emotion of pleasure and happiness. Joy can also be the very thing that delights you. You might find great joy in learning new vocabulary. Or not. Joy can also be used as a verb. You can joy in the fact that you have no homework for the weekend. Or, you might want to rejoice when the teacher announces that the test has been canceled. It's a real joy to use the word as an adjective, too. For example, receiving straight A's probably makes you extremely joyful.
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Joy Nzau, a 20-year-old from east London, has created tops inspired by brands like Asda, Nando's and Greggs with videos of her hand-painted creations, racking up millions of views on social media.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
"I don't know what was going on in my head. Joy, surprise - so many emotions. I felt so overwhelmed," Chwalinska said.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
But “All In Now” upgrades the band’s songwriting; the music looks back to the moody yet tuneful post-punk of English bands like Joy Division and the Smiths.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2026
Joy Wiltermuth explained why the federal government’s borrowing costs might keep rising.
From MarketWatch • May 8, 2026
And maybe this corner of American and Joy is collapsing under the weight of all that troubles me, too—we left everything we loved behind in Haiti and my mother was put into something like jail.
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
