joust

verb \ ˈjau̇st , sometimes ˈjəst or ˈjüst \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Examples: joust in a Sentence

Definition of joust

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

See joust defined for English-language learners

Examples of joust in a Sentence

The knights jousted against each other.

Recent Examples of joust from the Web

The Democratic candidates — Rachael Rollins, Greg Henning, Shannon McAuliffe, Linda Champion, and Evandro Carvalho — jousted over policy and priorities while touting their progressive views.

— jamie halper, BostonGlobe.com, "Suffolk DA candidates face off at debate," 8 June 2018
Valdez and Abbott also jousted over border and immigration issues earlier this month as the governor worked with President Donald Trump's administration over a new round of National Guard deployments.

— mike ward, Houston Chronicle, "Abbott hammers anew at Valdez's 'dangerous' sanctuary city stance," 15 May 2018
Two other candidates who began the race with some name ID, Secretary of State Brian Kemp (best known prior to this race as a champion voter-suppresser) and former state legislator Hunter Hill, appear to be jousting for a runoff spot opposite Cagle.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "The Two Staceys Versus GOP Wild Men: A Preview of Tuesday’s Primaries," 22 May 2018
Other mainline Protestant denominations have also had long histories of jousting on the issue.

— tim funk, charlotteobserver, "Will views on same-sex marriage split one of America's largest Protestant religions? | Charlotte Observer," 17 May 2018
Valdez and Abbott also jousted over border and immigration issues earlier this month as the governor worked with President Donald Trump's administration over a new round of National Guard deployments.

— mike ward, Houston Chronicle, "Abbott hammers anew at Valdez's 'dangerous' sanctuary city stance," 15 May 2018
After a period of jousting with Caltrans, conditional permission was granted to the then-new city of La Cañada Flintridge to erect a 7-foot-by-16-foot redwood sign on St. Francis High School property near the offramp of the Foothill (210) Freeway.

— carol cormaci, latimes.com, "La Cañada History: Final touches put on sign welcoming motorists to the then-new city of La Cañada Flintridge," 30 Apr. 2018
Verbal jousts dominated the debate, coming from the leading Democratic hopefuls.

— john sharp, AL.com, "How the Alabama Democratic governor's debate produced 'more fireworks' than usual," 25 Apr. 2018
Valdez and Abbott also jousted over border and immigration issues earlier this month as the governor worked with President Donald Trump's administration over a new round of National Guard deployments.

— mike ward, Houston Chronicle, "Abbott continues aggressively taking on Valdez on immigration, border issues," 17 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'joust.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of joust

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

Other History Terms

agonistic, carpetbagger, enceinte, fief, historiography, paladin

joust

noun

Definition of joust

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

See joust defined for kids

Recent Examples of joust from the Web

The interactive festival includes jousts, a mermaid lagoon, beautiful crafts from metalsmiths, woodworkers and leather artists (to name just a few) and entertainment on 27 stages.

— clare miers, star-telegram, "Break out of your normal Mother's Day routine with these different experiences | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 8 May 2018
There's no better way to build a rivalry than a playoff series, and this should be quite a first-round joust.

— curtis zupke, latimes.com, "A look at the first-round matchup between the Kings and the Vegas Golden Knights," 9 Apr. 2018
The Zambonis that drive on the ice have jousts mounted on their sides to simulate a duel.

— ken belson, New York Times, "As Golden Knights Soar, Las Vegas Stakes Its Claim as a Sports Town," 27 Feb. 2018
Daniel José Molina and Alejandra Escalante play the King of Navarre and the Princess of France, who lead their friends in a merry chase through estates and quotations, plays and jousts, the nature of abstinence, and, of course, true love.

— OregonLive.com, "Here's your guide to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's 2018 season," 17 Feb. 2018
This year's theme is Feats of Strength, and will feature a gladiator joust, punching arcade, thumb wrestling, tattoo contest, climbing wall and a selfie booth.

— Post-Tribune, "Community news," 8 Feb. 2018
The role of public-interest oversight is not to mediate special-interest jousts, but to protect consumers, better understood as citizens.

— WSJ, "Net Neutrality, For and Against," 14 Dec. 2017
Here, each verbal joust between D and B-Real (rhyming partners rather than each other’s hype man) and Morello crunch crackles like fire.

— Philly.com, "Cat Stevens' new album features songs he wrote 50 years ago," 14 Sep. 2017
Each joke premise suggested over dinner has to be plumbed to exhaustion; each celebrity impression, particularly their fascination with Caine, becomes a ridiculous joust, with the duo finding new nuances and physical details in their impersonations.

— david sims, The Atlantic, "The Trip to Spain," 15 Aug. 2017