Jump To:

• Joseph
  Joseph

  noun

  (in the Bible) Jacob's eleventh son, the first of Jacob and his second wife, Rachel: sold into slavery by his brothers.
• joseph
  joseph

  noun

  a woman's floor-length riding coat with a small cape, worn esp in the 18th century

Joseph

American  

[joh-zuhf, -suhf] / ˈdʒoʊ zəf, -səf /

noun

1. (in the Bible) Jacob's eleventh son, the first of Jacob and his second wife, Rachel: sold into slavery by his brothers.

2. (in the Bible) the husband of Mary who was the mother of Jesus.

3. Hinmaton-yalaktit, c1840–1904, leader of the Nez Perce: led 1,000-mile (1,600-km) retreat from U.S. forces in an attempt to reach Canada in 1877.

4. joseph, a long coat buttoning in the front, worn especially by women as part of their riding habit in colonial America.

5. a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “increaser.”

---

Joseph ¹ British  

/ ˈdʒəʊzɪf /

noun

1. Old Testament

   1. the eleventh son of Jacob and one of the 12 patriarchs of Israel (Genesis 30:2–24)

   2. either or both of two tribes descended from his sons Ephraim and Manasseh

2. New Testament the husband of Mary the mother of Jesus (Matthew 1:16–25). Feast day: Mar 19

---

joseph ² British  

/ ˈdʒəʊzɪf /

noun

1. a woman's floor-length riding coat with a small cape, worn esp in the 18th century

---

Etymology

Origin of joseph

perhaps from the story of Joseph and his long coat (Genesis 37:3)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Joseph joseph

For his advocacy of English prose in the sweet and easy styles of Joseph Addison and Jonathan Swift, the Scots bookworm has been heralded as “a founder of the study of English in universities.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Joseph Paintsil scored the only goal of the match, giving the Galaxy a 1-0 win that allowed them to earn three points in the Western Conference and climb to 10th place in the standings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

"If we want to realize the potential of precision medicine, we have to understand these fundamental biological variables," says Professor Joseph Powell, co-senior author and Director of Garvan's Translational Genomics Program.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

When President Joseph Boakai took over, he pledged to crack down on corruption.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

The old man was called Baba Joseph and he often came to talk.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

Chinua Achebe: The man who rediscovered Africa Topics: , , , joseph conrad, heart of darkness, , , Chinua Achebe has died at 82.

From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2013

I did as she bade me, and she doffed hat and joseph.

From The Yeoman Adventurer by George W. Gough

I knew her when first she 'lighted, notwithstanding her being neatly dressed in a green joseph, which, I'll assure you, sir, becomes her remarkably well.

From The Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves by T. (Tobias) Smollett

Olivia would be drawn as an Amazon, sitting upon a bank of flowers, drest in a green joseph, richly laced with gold, and a whip in her hand.

From The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith

We think, like joseph in his childish dreams, that the sun and moon and the eleven stars, to say nothing of the sheaves, are going to make obeisance to us.

From At Large by Arthur Christopher Benson