joint
Other forms: joints; jointed; jointing; jointedly
Whether it’s the bones making up a skeleton or the wooden sections on your breakfast table, the point where two things come together is called a joint.
The noun joint came into English through the French word joindre, meaning “to join.” Use joint to describe the point where two things connect, or join. A joint on your body allows for movement — you can look at your finger to see how that works. As an adjective, joint means "combined," like a joint gift to someone that was purchased with money combined from two or more people.
Definitions of joint
-
junction by which parts or objects are joined togethertypes:ball-and-socket jointa joint that can rotate within a socketflexible joint, hingea joint that holds two parts together so that one can swing relative to the othermiter, miter joint, mitre, mitre jointjoint that forms a corner; usually both sides are bevelled at a 45-degree angle to form a 90-degree cornermortise joint, mortise-and-tenon jointa joint made by inserting tenon on one piece into mortise holes in the otherrabbet jointa joint formed by fitting together two rabbeted boardsscarf, scarf jointa joint made by notching the ends of two pieces of timber or metal so that they will lock together end-to-endseamjoint consisting of a line formed by joining two piecestoggle jointa joint made by two arms attached by a pivot; used to apply pressure at the two ends by straightening the jointwelda metal joint formed by softening with heat and fusing or hammering togetherbutt hingea hinge mortised flush into the edge of the door and jambfell, felled seamseam made by turning under or folding together and stitching the seamed materials to avoid rough edgesfish jointa butt joint formed by bolting fish plates to the sides of two rails or beamsjoint hinge, strap hingea hinge with two long straps; one strap is fastened to the surface of a moving part (e.g., a door or lid) and the other is fastened to the adjacent stationary frameT hinge, tee hingea hinge that looks like the letter T when it is opened; similar to a strap hinge except that one strap has been replaced by half of a butt hinge that can be mortised flush into the stationary frametongue and groove jointa mortise joint made by fitting a projection on the edge of one board into a matching groove on another boardwelta raised or strengthened seamtype of:
-
the shape or manner in which things come together and a connection is madesynonyms: articulation, join, junction, juncturetypes:esophagogastric junction, oesophagogastric junctionthe junction between the esophagus and the stomach epitheliumtype of:
-
(anatomy) the point of connection between two bones or elements of a skeleton (especially if it allows motion)synonyms: articulatio, articulationtypes:elbowthe joint of a mammal or bird that corresponds to the human elbowarticulatio temporomandibularis, mandibular joint, temporomandibular jointthe joint between the head of the lower jawbone and the temporal bonefrontal suture, sutura frontalisthe suture between two halves of the frontal bone (usually obliterated by the age of 6)intermaxillary suture, sutura intermaxillaristhe suture between the two maxillae of the upper jawboneoccipitomastoid suturethe suture between the occipital and the temporal bones; a continuation of the lamboid sutureparietomastoid suturethe suture between the parietal and the temporal bonesarticulatio plana, gliding jointa freely moving joint in which the articulations allow only gliding motionsginglymoid joint, ginglymus, hinge jointa freely moving joint in which the bones are so articulated as to allow extensive movement in one planearticulatio spheroidea, ball-and-socket joint, cotyloid joint, enarthrodial joint, enarthrosis, spheroid jointa freely moving joint in which a sphere on the head of one bone fits into a rounded cavity in the other bonearticulatio trochoidea, pivot joint, rotary joint, rotatory jointa freely moving joint in which movement is limited to rotationtype of:body partany part of an organism such as an organ or extremity
-
united or combined“a joint session of Congress”“joint owners”synonyms:collectiveforming a whole or aggregatecommonbelonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; publicintegratednot segregated; designated as available to all races or groupsclannishresembling a large extended family, especially in tending to stick together or have the same opinionscosignatorysigning jointly with otherssharedhave in common; held or experienced in commonunitedcharacterized by unity; being or joined into a single entityantonyms:separateindependent; not united or jointindependentfree from external control and constraintothernot the same one or ones already mentioned or impliedaparthaving characteristics not shared by othersasunderwidely separated especially in spacedisjointhaving no elements in commonisolablecapable of being isolated or disjoinedunaccompanied(of a state or an event) taking place without something specified occurring at the same timeunsharednot shareddividedseparated into parts or pieces
-
affecting or involving two or more“joint income-tax return”“joint ownership”synonyms:sharedhave in common; held or experienced in common
-
involving both houses of a legislature“a joint session of Congress”synonyms:
-
provide with a joint“the carpenter jointed two pieces of wood”synonyms: articulate
-
fasten with a joint
-
fit as if by joints
-
a piece of meat roasted or for roasting and of a size for slicing into more than one portionsynonyms: roasttypes:blade roasta roast cut from the bladepot roastcut of beef suitable for simmering in liquid in a closed potrib roast, standing rib roasta cut of meat (beef or venison) including more than one rib and the meat located along the outside of the ribstop roundroast cut from the round; usually suitable for roastingrump roasta cut of beef or veal from the fleshy hindquarters of the animalbottom roundcut from the round; suitable for pot roastbreast of vealusually stuffed and roastedfricandeaularded veal braised and glazed in its own juicestype of:
-
separate (meat) at the joint
-
marijuana leaves rolled into a cigarette for smoking
-
a disreputable place of entertainmenttypes:jook, jook house, jook joint, juke, juke house, juke jointa small roadside establishment in the southeastern United States where you can eat and drink and dance to music provided by a jukeboxtype of:spota business establishment for entertainment
Pronunciation
US
UK
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
- MLA
- APA
- Chicago
Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘joint'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
Send us feedback
Word Family
Vocabulary lists containing joint
19th Amendment (1920)
The 19th Amendment guarantees all American women the right to vote. Congress passed it on June 4, 1919 and ratified it on August 18, 1920. This list includes vocabulary from the transcription of the Joint Resolution of Congress proposing the 19th Amendment. Read the full text here.
The Lemonade War
Siblings Evan and Jessie engage in an all-out war to sell the most lemonade before school starts.
Engineering - Introductory
Learn these terms and build a solid engineering vocabulary. This comprehensive list covers simple machines, electricity, force and momentum, building materials and structural elements, and much more. This list is sure to cement your understanding of engineering.