joust

1 of 2

verb

jousted; jousting; jousts

intransitive verb

1
a
: to fight on horseback as a knight or man-at-arms
b
: to engage in combat with lances on horseback
2
: to engage in combat or competition as if in a joust
jousting debaters
jousting bighorn rams
jouster noun

joust

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: a combat on horseback between two knights with lances especially as part of a tournament
b
jousts plural : tournament
2
: a personal combat or competition : struggle

Examples of joust in a Sentence

Verb The knights jousted against each other.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Richardson says there has been some uptake of her suggestions, but mostly by smaller companies or those outside of the core software business that are still jousting for the technical talent—industries like retail, manufacturing, biotech, and financial services. Lauren Goode, WIRED, 4 Mar. 2024 Business rivals joust for the better table at the best restaurants. Noah Lederman, Robb Report, 27 Feb. 2024 After the Civil War, Bradley rented out the island for recreational activities like picnics, a medieval-style jousting competition and dances. Sue Eisenfeld, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Feb. 2024 The thing is Parson hasn’t been as eager to joust with other governors at the playoff level, allowing Kelly to be the governor most often seen placing friendly wagers. Katie Bernard, Kansas City Star, 5 Feb. 2024 Agricultural water agencies and environmental groups have been jousting for decades in the Legislature, in Congress, in courts and in regulatory agencies such as the water board over how much water farmers can draw and how much should remain in rivers to protect habitat for fish and other wildlife. Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 30 Jan. 2024 Then with two minutes left, Wiggins jousted under the rim with Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine for a Thompson miss and deflected the ball back out to Thompson, who swung the ball to Kuminga behind the arc. Shayna Rubin, The Mercury News, 13 Jan. 2024 Doodles of knights jousting with the creatures are common in the margins of medieval books. Ella Riley-Adams, New York Times, 8 Nov. 2023 In addition to the dwindling resources and jousting over moving migrants around the country, local, state and federal governments face another fast-approaching problem: the elements. Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Nov. 2023
Noun
Journey back to the Elizabethan era with jousts, carnival rides, acrobats, mud fights, feasts, and more. BostonGlobe.com, 25 Aug. 2023 The crux of that evidence will come down to a legal joust over whether Trump was acting in his official capacity as president. Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 15 Aug. 2023 The photos also offer vivid portraits of residents of the village (including some who appear in the film) and a documentary illustration of the joust, the grand public spectacle that takes place on Sundays. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 14 July 2023 Tim Scott and 'The View' The only Black Republican in the Senate, Scott spent most of his time talking about his jousts over opportunities for minorities with members of the Biden and hosts of The View television show. David Jackson, USA TODAY, 23 June 2023 Sure, jet skis are available for characters like Cam and Ethan to replicate their water joust, and other activities include water skiing, parasailing, big game fishing and surfing, plus much tamer sailing on a handcrafted coconut timber Dhoni sailboat, kayaking and paddleboarding. Johanna Read, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2022 The commercial showed a character from the HBO series defeating the brand’s signature Bud Knight in a joust and then killing him in no uncertain terms. Brian Steinberg, Variety, 1 Feb. 2023 Local 99 declared victory Sunday in the legal joust. Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2023 Stocks have been churning recently as worries about sticky inflation joust against data suggesting the economy remains more resilient than feared. Stan Choe, ajc, 17 Feb. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'joust.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French juster to unite, joust, from Vulgar Latin *juxtare, from Latin juxta near; akin to Latin jungere to join — more at yoke

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of joust was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near joust

Cite this Entry

“Joust.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/joust. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

joust

noun
ˈjau̇st
: a combat on horseback between two knights with lances especially as part of a tournament
joust verb
jouster noun

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