joyride

noun

joy·​ride ˈjȯi-ˌrīd 

1

: a ride taken for pleasure (as in a car or aircraft)

especially : an automobile ride marked by reckless driving (as in a stolen car)

2

: conduct or action resembling a joyride especially in disregard of cost or consequences

joyride intransitive verb

joyrider

ˈjȯi-ˌrī-dər 

noun

joyriding noun

Examples of joyride in a Sentence

Some teenager stole my car and took it for a joyride.

Recent Examples on the Web

An emotionally disturbed man swiped an idling private ambulance off a Bronx street Thursday — taking the rescue vehicle on a short joyride before crashing it into a car, police said. —Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 28 May 2026

In the instance that fueled the witness-dissuasion conviction, a teen boy, John Doe 2 reportedly suffered a serious head injury after drunkenly hanging from O’Connor’s SUV — driven by another teen — then falling during a joyride in the high school parking lot. —Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 26 May 2026

The victims of his 119 mph joyride. —Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 20 May 2026

The joyride ended in a crash and a list of felony charges, including offering a $15,000 bribe to the arresting officers, the Wilmington Police Department reports. —Mark Price may 19, Charlotte Observer, 19 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for joyride

• abide
• allied
• applied
• aside
• astride
• azide
• backside
• bankside
• bastide
• bayside
• bedside
• belied

Kids Definition

joyride

noun

joy·​ride ˈjoi-ˌrīd 

: a ride taken for pleasure and often marked by reckless driving

joyrider

-ˌrīd-ər 

noun