joust

American  

[joust, juhst, joost] / dʒaʊst, dʒʌst, dʒust /

noun

• jousts
  plural

1. a combat in which two knights on horseback attempted to unhorse each other with blunted lances.

2. this type of combat fought in a highly formalized manner as part of a tournament.

3. jousts, a tournament.

4. a personal competition or struggle.

---

verb (used without object)

• jousts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• jousted,
  past participle,  past
• jousting
  present participle

1. to contend in a joust or tournament.

2. to contend, compete, or struggle.

   The candidates will joust in a television debate.

joust British  

/ dʒaʊst /

noun

1. a combat between two mounted knights tilting against each other with lances. A tournament consisted of a series of such engagements

---

verb

1. (intr; often foll by against or with) to encounter or engage in such a tournament

   he jousted with five opponents

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• jouster
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• jousts
  plural

Participles

• jousting
  present
• jousted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• joust
  simple
• jousts
  simple
• have jousted
  perfect
• has jousted
  perfect
• am jousting
  progressive
• are jousting
  progressive
• is jousting
  progressive
• have been jousting
  perfect progressive
• has been jousting
  perfect progressive

Past

• jousted
  simple
• had jousted
  perfect
• was jousting
  progressive
• were jousting
  progressive
• had been jousting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will joust
  simple
• will have jousted
  perfect
• will be jousting
  progressive
• will have been jousting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of joust

1250–1300; (v.) Middle English justen, jousten < Old French juster, joster, jouster to tilt in the lists < Vulgar Latin *juxtāre to approach, clash, derivative of Latin juxtā approaching, bordering; (noun) Middle English juste, jouste < Old French juste, etc., derivative of juster

Explanation

To joust is to fight against someone, usually using lances, on horseback. Such a contest is called a joust. If you've ever seen a movie or TV show about medieval times, you might have seen two knights jousting. This is a sport that takes place on horseback and involves lances, which are long like spears. The knights charge each other and try to hit each other with the lances and knock each other off the horse. This type of contest — which usually involves a tournament — is called a joust. Jousting is as old as the Middle Ages.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

joust jousts jousted jousting

But Sophie Cunningham has let the state turn her into a combination of Sancho Panza and Don Quixote, willing to joust with a windmill.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026

By watching the joust, astronomers got to see what happens when a galaxy finds itself on the wrong end of a quasar.

From Space Scoop ● May 21, 2025

Pimblett responded by calling Ferguson a "sausage", before the pair continued to verbally joust.

From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2023

Competitors were expected to joust one another on a thin, elevated platform that fell out underneath them.

From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2023

“You never know what will happen in a joust like this.”

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Perhaps they’ll even find more cosmic jousts — enough to make a whole tournament!

From Space Scoop ● May 21, 2025

It’s a good thing that Jagannathan and Brown have training in the theater: They imbue Priya and Nic’s densely verbal jousts, dodges and truths with compelling chiaroscuro hues.

From New York Times ● Jun. 22, 2023

Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament, based in Irving, Texas, is a Spanish nobility-themed dinner theater show with live-action jousts on horseback.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2023

There's an expectation of the verbal jabs and jousts in parliament chambers.

From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2021

She had her dog with her, the big grey hound she rode in the mock jousts.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

During Friday’s hearing, the lawmakers turned to former CNN anchor Jim Acosta, who famously jousted with Trump during his first term, for his reflections.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2026

The White House has jousted with Beijing on trade but reached a broad truce with China after a major escalation last spring.

From Barron's ● Feb. 8, 2026

Fleetwood and Thomas jousted through the back nine and also made it to the last all square.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2025

Medieval English knights donned armor, mounted highly trained horses, and jousted with long lances in spectacular ritual combats.

From Science Magazine ● Mar. 21, 2024

When two knights jousted they held their lances in their right hands, but they directed their horses at one another so that each man had his opponent on his near side.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

TV commercials showed construction workers jousting with FatMaxes, and Stanley sued copycat competitors for alleged patent infringement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026

And there's been some verbal jousting in the preamble to Sunday.

From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026

These include regional fisheries bodies and the International Seabed Authority -- the forum where nations are jousting over proposed rules on the environmentally destructive deep-sea mining industry.

From Barron's ● Jan. 17, 2026

Plus, Martin challenged the show to “do the best jousting sequences that were ever done on film,” and showrunner Ira Parker said they made it happen, touting one particular jousting scene as “badass.”

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 31, 2025

I never distinguished myself again, and each defeat meant the loss of another charger arid another suit of jousting armor, which must needs he ransomed or replaced.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin