joust

verb \ ˈjau̇st , sometimes ˈjəst or ˈjüst \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of joust

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 show has a street-wise vibe often fueled by sly sight gags, memorable characterizations, and games of one-upmanship, like jousts with wooden poles and garbage can lids.

— karen campbell, BostonGlobe.com, "It’s all about the beat for these two shows," 12 Apr. 2018
In the early 2000s, jousting was common between Núñez and Senate leader Don Perata.

— laurel rosenhall, San Francisco Chronicle, "California Assembly, Senate just don’t get along. Toni Atkins hopes to change that," 10 Mar. 2018
The cast for each approximately two-hour show includes about 20 actors and their Andalusians or quarter horses — which are used more for jousting and games.

— jessica peralta, latimes.com, "A queen begins her reign at Medieval Times in Buena Park," 16 Mar. 2018
Other activities: The castle also hosts special events like jousting tournaments, holiday celebrations, pet days, and more.

— ellen scolnic, Philly.com, "Finding Anne Boleyn (and Henry VIII) at Hever Castle," 9 Feb. 2018
At a two-week summit in 1520 called the Field of the Cloth of Gold, Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France spent £76,000 on feasts and jousts.

— james atlas, Town & Country, "The Optics of Excess: All Eyes Are on the Fantastically Extravagant—And It Doesn't Look Good," 8 Feb. 2018
On day one, the new president jousts with the press over the size of his inauguration.

— michael smerconish, Philly.com, "Trump's first year: It still feels as if America's trapped in a movie | Michael Smerconish," 19 Jan. 2018
Instead, Trump spent the weekend playing golf and jousting with professional athletes via social media.

— david a. graham, The Atlantic, "Trump Takes to Twitter as Puerto Rico's Crisis Mounts," 1 Oct. 2017
In September, Google blocked users of Amazon's touch-screen smart speaker — the Amazon Show — from seeing YouTube videos, extending a years' long jousting over access to rivals’ products.

— elizabeth weise, USA TODAY, "Amazon files to trademark 'AmazonTube,' a bad sign for those hoping for Amazon-YouTube reconciliation," 20 Dec. 2017

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

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 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
Littlefinger had claimed Tyrion won it in a bet after Jaime lost a joust.

— matt miller, Esquire, "Everything You Need to Know About Littlefinger's Dagger on Game of Thrones," 7 Aug. 2017
But knights typically didn’t joust with women, which may be the most salient inference.

— kathleen parker, The Denver Post, "The few, the proud, the Marines’ nude-photo scandal," 9 Mar. 2017