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joe

1 American  
[joh] / dʒoʊ /

noun

Informal.

  1. coffee.

    If you're looking for a pastry or breakfast sandwich to go with your morning cup of joe, we’ve got you covered!
Joe 2 American  
[joh] / dʒoʊ /

noun

  1. (sometimes lowercase) fellow; guy.

    the average Joe who works for a living.

  2. 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.

  3. a male given name, form of Joseph.

Joe British  
/ dʒəʊ /

noun

  1. a man or fellow

  2. a GI; soldier

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

One roaster’s ride on the roller coaster of coffee pricing helps explain the many reasons consumers keep paying more for a cup of joe.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

SAN FRANCISCO—Mayor Daniel Lurie strode into Alushe Coffee Bar and asked the surprised couple behind the counter for two things: a cup of joe and if they could say a few words into his iPhone.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 2, 2025

Sig’s baby was born 70 years ago this autumn, on Nov. 17, when he first demonstrated how it could alert any ordinary joe schmoe listening to the radio.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2024

Their coffee remains “Black as hell, strong as death, sweet as love,” a Turkish proverb that also encompasses the die-hard attitude that so many folks have for their cup of joe.

From Salon • Dec. 9, 2023

“How about a cup of joe on the house, Marvin?”

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

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.