joust

verb \ ˈjau̇st , sometimes ˈjəst or ˈjüst \

|Updated on: 24 Jul 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 Celtics and 76ers now joust for LeBron's vacated Eastern dominance.

— greg cote, miamiherald, "Melo to Miami? How Heat’s interest in Carmelo Anthony reveals one team’s desperation," 11 July 2018
From his perch atop the shoulders of his mother’s boyfriend, Kai Oliver raised his red, white and blue light saber in a patriotic en garde, prepared to joust with the Washington Monument.

— reis thebault, Washington Post, "Fourth of July celebrations more meaningful, worrisome for some Americans," 4 July 2018
As the Republican establishment and conservative insurgents joust among themselves, so do establishment Democrats and progressives such as Ocasio-Cortez who were energized by Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential candidacy in 2016.

— michael smolens, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Immigration reform seems impossible now ... and forever?," 1 July 2018
Mascots ranging from local favorites such as Kingston (Orlando City) and Knightro (UCF) to Nebraska’s Lil’ Red jousted, danced and threw t-shirts to prove their worthiness to the mascot world.

— patrick connolly, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Mascots joust, dance their way to the top at 25th Mascot Games," 23 June 2018
LePage, who won his first term with a plurality of just 38 percent, would likely have been eliminated in the second round since the independent candidate and the Democrat were jousting over the same votes.

— chris stirewalt, Fox News, "As goes Maine, so goes the nation?," 12 June 2018
Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg apologized, defended his company, and jousted with questioners while agreeing with others during his first-ever congressional testimony.

— Bloomberg.com, "Zuckerberg Testifies Before Senate Panel," 10 Apr. 2018
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

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