joist
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
joists,
present (3rd person singular)
-
joisted,
past participle, past
-
joisting
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
joistsimple
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joistssimple
-
have joistedperfect
-
has joistedperfect
-
am joistingprogressive
-
are joistingprogressive
-
is joistingprogressive
-
have been joistingperfect progressive
-
has been joistingperfect progressive
Past
-
joistedsimple
-
had joistedperfect
-
was joistingprogressive
-
were joistingprogressive
-
had been joistingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of joist
1325–75; Middle English giste < Old French < Latin *jacitum support, noun use of neuter of Latin jacitus (past participle of jacēre to lie), equivalent to jaci- variant stem + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
A joist is a support that strengthens floors and ceilings in a house. Joists run horizontally, connecting with the studs in walls to give buildings a solid frame. You can't see the joists in a finished house or building, because they're inside the foundation, walls, or ceiling. Joists are usually made of wood, although they can also be concrete or steel, materials strong enough to provide support. Ceiling joists often connect to beams, which tend to be larger and run perpendicular to joists. Joist comes from the Old French word giste, "beam supporting a bridge," from the Latin iacere, "to rest."
Vocabulary lists containing joist
Learning Down The House: Parts of Your Home
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Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Architecture 101
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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:
What about the nails that attach the deck joist hangers and other structural connectors to the wood?
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 2, 2023
The home was badly damaged and every roof joist was left burnt by the fire.
From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2022
“The first day we start building, you have got to know what a joist is, a stud, decking, all those words.”
From Washington Post ● Sep. 28, 2022
Put it in a ceiling joist or reinforced that particular area.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2022
His concentration broken, he stepped awkwardly upon a joist and tripped heavily into the thick dust.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
The often-expansive data-center buildings typically have steel frames made up of wall pillars, roof joists and roof sheeting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
Machines cut lumber and route utility pathways; nail guns connect joists, studs and weather wrap; other machines blow in insulation, all guided by a digital model.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2025
Inside Mr. Zulkibli’s 50-foot-high birdhouse, wooden joists crisscross the ceilings, creating places for birds to make their nests.
From New York Times ● Apr. 2, 2024
He discovered that the bandboard that caps the ends of his floor joists was rotting.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
It bumps and knocks on the joists below.
From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor
The tunnel vault and the joisted ceiling were equally well suited to the long galleries of Assyrian palaces.
From A History of Art in Chaldæa & Assyria, v. 1 by Sir Walter Armstrong
She is a tank ribbed, joisted, stayed, but she is no greater mystery than a tank.
From Notes on Life and Letters by Joseph Conrad
In the windows sat stately dames and beautiful maidens, featly adorned, and gazed down at the joisting of the warriors, till that the king himself began to tilt with his kinsmen.
From The Fall of the Niebelungs by Margaret Armour
"I look to see some handsome joisting," said Don Pedro, who rode with the King of Majorca upon the right of the prince, while Chandos was on the left.
From The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
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.
