joy

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈdʒɔɪ/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/dʒɔɪ/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling( joi)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
joy /dʒɔɪ/USA pronunciation   n. 
  1. a feeling or state of great delight or happiness;
    gladness;
    elation:[uncountable]He was filled with joy at the birth of his daughter. He jumped for joy at the news.
  2. a source or cause of great pleasure:[countable]a book that was a joy to read.
joy•less, adj. 
joy•less•ness, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
joy  ( joi),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying;
    keen pleasure;
    elation:She felt the joy of seeing her son's success.
  2. a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight;
    something or someone greatly valued or appreciated:Her prose style is a pure joy.
  3. the expression or display of glad feeling;
    festive gaiety.
  4. a state of happiness or felicity.

v.i. 
  1. to feel joy;
    be glad;
    rejoice.

v.t. 
  1. [Obs.]to gladden.
  • Late Latin gaudia, neuter plural (taken as feminine singular) of Latin gaudium joy, equivalent. to gaud- (base of gaudēre to be glad) + -ium -ium
  • Old French joie, joye
  • Middle English joy(e) 1175–1225
    1. rapture. 4. bliss. See pleasure. 
    1. misery, unhappiness, sorrow, grief.
Joy  ( joi),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. a female given name.
Also, Joye. 
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
joy /dʒɔɪ/ n
  1. a deep feeling or condition of happiness or contentment
  2. something causing such a feeling; a source of happiness
  3. an outward show of pleasure or delight; rejoicing
  4. Brit informal success; satisfaction: I went to the bank for a loan, but got no joy
 vb
  1. (intransitive) to feel joy
  2. (transitive) obsolete to make joyful; gladden
Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French joie, from Latin gaudium joy, from gaudēre to be glad
'joy' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
beaut - bliss - Chassid - chill - clematis - congratulations - dance - delight - delirious - drunk - ecstasy - ecstatic - emotion - enjoy - enjoyment - exalt - exult - fain - felicity - felicitate - frantic - gaudy - hail - happy - heaven - hurrah - joie de vivre - joyful - joyless - joyride - jubilant - jubilate - jubilation - jubilee - laughter - more - old man's beard - pass - polysyndeton - radiant - rapture - rapturous - rejoice - spirit - traveller's joy - Walker - whee - whoopee - winsome - aah
Collocations: is a simple joy, went on a joy ride with, is full of (pure) joy, more...

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