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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

joy.

A feeling of extreme happiness or cheerfulness, especially related to the acquisition or expectation of something good.

3 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/d͡ʒɔɪ/Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation/d͡ʒoj/British, Southern, Standard/d͡ʒoɪ/Australia, New-Zealand

  1. A feeling of extreme happiness or cheerfulness, especially related to the acquisition or expectation of something good.

    countable · uncountable
    a child's joy on Christmas morning
    It is his joy to walk in the rain.

  2. Anything that causes such a feeling.

    countable · uncountable
    the joys and demands of parenthood

  3. Luck or success; a positive outcome.

    countable · uncountable

  4. The sign or exhibition of joy; gaiety; merriment; festivity.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
Where this word comes from

The noun is from Middle English joye, borrowed from Old French joie, from Late Latin gaudia, neuter plural (mistaken as feminine singular) of Latin gaudium (“joy”), from gaudēre (“to be glad, rejoice”). Doublet of jo and gaudy (“Oxford college reunion”). Displaced native Old English ġefēa. The interjection is from the noun. The verb is from Middle English joyen, joȝen, joien, from Old French jöir, from the Old French noun (see above).

intj/d͡ʒɔɪ/Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation/d͡ʒoj/British, Southern, Standard/d͡ʒoɪ/Australia, New-Zealand

  1. Expressing appreciation and happiness.

    dated · often · sarcastic
Where this word comes from

The noun is from Middle English joye, borrowed from Old French joie, from Late Latin gaudia, neuter plural (mistaken as feminine singular) of Latin gaudium (“joy”), from gaudēre (“to be glad, rejoice”). Doublet of jo and gaudy (“Oxford college reunion”). Displaced native Old English ġefēa. The interjection is from the noun. The verb is from Middle English joyen, joȝen, joien, from Old French jöir, from the Old French noun (see above).

verb/d͡ʒɔɪ/Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation/d͡ʒoj/British, Southern, Standard/d͡ʒoɪ/Australia, New-Zealand

  1. To feel joy, to rejoice.

    intransitive

  2. To enjoy.

    archaic · transitive

  3. To give joy to; to congratulate.

    obsolete · transitive

  4. To gladden; to make joyful; to exhilarate.

    obsolete · transitive
Where this word comes from

The noun is from Middle English joye, borrowed from Old French joie, from Late Latin gaudia, neuter plural (mistaken as feminine singular) of Latin gaudium (“joy”), from gaudēre (“to be glad, rejoice”). Doublet of jo and gaudy (“Oxford college reunion”). Displaced native Old English ġefēa. The interjection is from the noun. The verb is from Middle English joyen, joȝen, joien, from Old French jöir, from the Old French noun (see above).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.