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.
See Examples For:
As much as I wanted to hop on a plane from New York City to try it, my editor and I settled on a shorter trek, to New Jersey, to start with its sloppy joe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
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
When it comes to making a fiber-rich cup of joe, plant-based milks are a great addition, says Nethra Rajendran, Beverage Experience Developer, Oatly North America.
From Salon ● Jan. 17, 2026
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
Maybe that’s what joe felt for the first time in a long time.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Former US president Joe Biden's cancer has metastasized further, according to his son Hunter Biden, who shared the update in a recent interview with the BBC.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
The financial security was a major factor for Jessie and Joe in their decision.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Joe Sheehan, a baseball writer, has observed that the sport’s real watchability problem isn’t pace of play but lack of action.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
With his “X-Men” casting, Connor would join his fellow “Heartstopper” and “Heartstopper Forever” star Joe Locke in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Joe stood on tiptoe to read the sign near the front door.
From "A Monster of a Mystery (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #5)" by Franklin W. Dixon
And then we look at how regular Joes and Janes could invest in the assets the pros are avoiding using regular, low-cost exchange-traded funds.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 13, 2026
"They are a bunch of guys that never quit. You can call them the Average Joes but I say they are the Above Average Joes."
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2025
In some of Simpson’s later ads, average Janes and Joes cheered him on as he ran, yelling, “Go, O.J., Go!”
From New York Times ● Apr. 11, 2024
Facing right-hander Joes Estes, who was making his MLB debut, the Mariners got an unexpected spark from Canzone, who had struggled of late.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 20, 2023
Joes with on the floor of my mom’s hair salon.
From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley
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.
