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.
a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated.
Her prose style is a pure joy.
the expression or display of glad feeling; festive gaiety.
a state of happiness or felicity.
a deep feeling or condition of happiness or contentment
something causing such a feeling; a source of happiness
an outward show of pleasure or delight; rejoicing
informal success; satisfaction
I went to the bank for a loan, but got no joy
(intr) to feel joy
obsolete (tr) to make joyful; gladden
See pleasure.
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English joy(e), from Old French joie, joye, from Late Latin gaudia, neuter plural (taken as feminine singular) of Latin gaudium “joy,” equivalent to gaud- (base of gaudēre “to be glad”) + -ium -ium
Joy is the emotion of pleasure and happiness. Joy can also be the very thing that delights you. You might find great joy in learning new vocabulary. Or not. Joy can also be used as a verb. You can joy in the fact that you have no homework for the weekend. Or, you might want to rejoice when the teacher announces that the test has been canceled. It's a real joy to use the word as an adjective, too. For example, receiving straight A's probably makes you extremely joyful.
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So, to help you stay motivated, my colleagues have curated some great recommendations to remind you that there’s still wonder and joy to be found in the world.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Combining a multitude of African dance styles, comedy and pure joy, they soon caught the attention of Ugandan musicians including Eddy Kenzo, who asked them to feature in some of his videos.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
His face was wet and gushing with joy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Winning streaks bring a life of their own to a clubhouse, each day presenting another opportunity to extend the joy and methodically build a feeling of invincibility.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
You want the race, the exaltation, the joy and beauty of it to go on and on.…
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
The station also serves as a broadcast partner to the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade, the city’s Pride parade, the Oakland Black Joy parade and the Bay to Breakers race.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
“Money will make a big difference in what you choose to do,” said Joy Loverde, author of “The Complete Eldercare Planner.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026
Joy Wiltermuth looked into the bond market’s confidence in the face of high inflation, and what may be in store for 2027.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
Ghana's Joy FM media outlet described Isak as a tailor who had lived in South Africa for about 20 years.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
One of the tragedies of these donuts—besides the fact that Miss Joy made them just once a year—was that they were only good the first day.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
But rather than fixate on that, might we suggest a few reads about all the joys available to us in this world?
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026
"Human consent is not an impediment to progress. Human consent does not diminish the struggles and the joys of technological innovation or inhuman creativity," Blanchett said at the event in the parliament's library.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
One of many joys of “Contrapposto” is observing Cricket’s artistic awakening via the mentors who guide him into his artistic consciousness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
One of the joys of Mr. Lin’s satisfying series is watching Jing-nan and other characters struggle to lead principled lives while gaining economic footing in a perilous environment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Surely they could not possibly think this was just Bandit’s scheme to escape the tyranny of piano lessons for the joys of Jackie Robinson!
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
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.