joe
noun
joe
1 American
[joh]
/ dʒoʊ /
noun
Informal.
Joe
2
American
[joh]
/ dʒoʊ /
noun
Joes
plural
-
(sometimes lowercase) fellow; guy.
the average Joe who works for a living.
-
Informal. a personification of a typical, often unprepossessing representative of an occupation, personality trait, state of being, etc., that is expressed, sometimes metonymically, as a mock surname.
Joe Lunchbucket working hard at some factory and paying his taxes year after year; political con artists relying on the gullibility of Joe Schmo.
-
a male given name, form of Joseph.
Joe
British
/ dʒəʊ /
noun
-
a man or fellow
-
a GI; soldier
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of joe
First recorded in 1840–50; of uncertain origin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Joe James acted in the Silk White movie “Be Careful What You Ask For” in 2020 and noticed the director was doing everything himself.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026
McCullum also gave his view on why Joe Root has been named interim captain for the second Test, rather than vice-captain Harry Brook, calling it a "collaborative" decision.
From BBC • Jun. 15, 2026
Mansosphere whisperer and UFC analyst Joe Rogan lamented the hazards of fighting outside.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 15, 2026
Joe Wengert co-created “Kevin” with ex-girlfriend/series voice actor Aubrey Plaza as a cathartic thought experiment about their actual pet cat, Kevin.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2026
Frank didn’t think that was very likely, so he and Joe moved on.
From "A Monster of a Mystery (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #5)" by Franklin W. Dixon
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.
