joey
noun
any young animal, especially a kangaroo.
joey
1 American
[joh-ee]
/ ˈdʒoʊ i /
noun
Australian.
-
joeys
plural
-
any young animal, especially a kangaroo.
-
a young child.
joey
2
American
[joh-ee]
/ ˈdʒoʊ i /
noun
British Slang.
-
joeys
plural
-
a threepenny piece.
-
(formerly) a fourpenny piece.
Joey
3
American
[joh-ee]
/ ˈdʒoʊ i /
noun
-
Joeys
plural
Joey
4
American
[joh-ee]
/ ˈdʒoʊ i /
noun
joey
British
/ ˈdʒəʊɪ /
noun
-
a young kangaroo or possum
-
a young animal or child
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of joey1
First recorded in 1830–40; origin uncertain
Origin of joey2
First recorded in 1860–65; named after Joseph Hume (1777–1855), English politician who favored the coinage of the fourpenny piece
Origin of Joey3
1895–1900; diminutive of Joseph, after Joseph Grimaldi
Explanation
A baby kangaroo, koala, and opossum are all known as a joey. Nearly all marsupial mothers carry their joeys in a handy pouch on the front of their bodies. The most well-known joeys are probably tiny kangaroos, but the term applies to all newborn marsupials. Tasmanian devils, wallabies, and wombats fall into this category, and they also tote their joeys around in pouches or pouch-like folds in their abdomens. Etymologists know this word joey first appeared in the early 19th century, but its origin remains a mystery.
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.
See Examples For:
A camera trap in Tasmania originally set to photograph quolls captured a possum mother and joey passing nightly to forage.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
"The snap judgement I made in these moments was never from a place of harm or stealing a joey," the statement says.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2025
Edwardsville law enforcement and animal control from nearby Bonner Springs responded to calls about the unusual highway sight of a joey, which some mistook for a wallaby.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 30, 2023
In the pouch, the joey attaches to its mother in order to nurse and continues developing for the next six months, the zoo said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2023
And anyway,” he concluded, “I’m going to be the joey in this show, or I won’t play.”
From The Corner House Girls Among the Gypsies How They Met, What Happened, and How It Ended by Grace Brooks Hill
Díaz induced Joey Ortiz to ground out to Mookie Betts at shortstop to end the game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
“Glizzies are everywhere you look,” said Joey Chestnut, the 42-year-old competitive eater, who has won the coveted Mustard Yellow Belt at the Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest a record 18 times.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Joey Puricelli, a 40-year-old teacher in the Midwest, sees Infinity Vision differently.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
Bozeman Mayor Joey Morrison, who was elected at 28 on a platform focused on affordable housing, says the rapid change has created a sharp divide between locals and people from out of state.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
In June 1969, Joey graduates from college and is accepted into graduate school at Middlebury College, where she earns a master’s degree in Spanish literature.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
It was a far cry from the uninspired videos peddled to adolescent girls, a battery of spinning, polished Jordans and Joeys that had long left me confused and a little repulsed.
From New York Times ● Sep. 24, 2020
"Joeys are most active at night-time, so you have to turn your day into night," she says.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2013
You have your Joeys and you have your Frasiers.
From Time ● Jan. 26, 2012
They call out to each other, a parade of Johnnies and Kennys and Joeys and Ritchies and Debbies.
From Washington Post
He started to get on Joeys case, telling him to stop standing around doing nothing.
From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor
Even as joeys, he found, individual kangaroos seemed to have distinct personalities.
From Science Magazine ● Feb. 25, 2024
Also, koala joeys prepare to leave their mothers for the very first time in this new episode of the documentary series.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2022
Wildlife officer Lindy Thomas poses with koalas and their joeys produced by artificial insemination at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Gold Coast, October 30, 2006.
From Reuters ● Jan. 29, 2022
But conservationists hope that the joeys will grow into fearsome predators that can help restore the continent’s environmental balance and return it to something closer to its state before European contact.
From Washington Post ● May 27, 2021
As in loyalty bound, we shall stick to the pound— 'Twould be treason the "sovereign" to banish; But all the half-crowns, "bobs", "joeys", and "browns," Into Royal Mint-sauce must vanish.
From Punch - Volume 25 (Jul-Dec 1853) by Various
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.
