joint

The noun is from Middle English joynt (attested since the late 13th century), from Old French joint (“joint of the body”) (attested since the 12th century). The adjective (attested since the 15th century) is from Old French jointiz. Both Old French words are from Latin iūnctus, the past participle of iungō. See also join, jugular.

The meaning of "building, establishment", especially in connection with shady activities, appeared in Anglo-Irish by 1821 and entered general American English slang by 1877, especially in the sense of "opium den". The sense "marijuana cigarette" is attested since 1935. The development to meaning "any thing" also happened to the Scots and Memphian form junt and the Mid-Atlantic/Philadelphian form jawn.

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɔɪnt/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔɪnt

joint (not comparable)

1. Done by two or more people or organisations working together.

   Synonyms: mutual, shared

   The play was a joint production between the two companies.

   • c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

     A joint burden laid upon us all.

• see also Thesaurus:joint

joint (plural joints)

1. The point where two components of a structure join, but are still able to rotate.

   This rod is free to swing at the joint with the platform.

   Synonyms: hinge, pivot

2. The point where two components of a structure join rigidly.

   The water is leaking out of the joint between the two pipes.

3. (anatomy) Any part of the body where two bones join, in most cases allowing that part of the body to be bent or straightened.
4. The means of securing together the meeting surfaces of components of a structure.

   The dovetail joint, while more difficult to make, is also quite strong.

6. A cut of meat, especially (but not necessarily) (a) one containing a joint in the sense of an articulation or (b) one rolled up and tied.

   Set the joint in a roasting tin and roast for the calculated cooking time.

7. The part or space included between two joints, knots, nodes, or articulations.

   a joint of cane or of a grass stem; a joint of the leg

8. (geology) A fracture in which the strata are not offset; a geologic joint.
10. (chiefly US slang, may be somewhat derogatory) A place of business, particularly in the food service or hospitality industries; sometimes extended to any place that is a focus of human connection or activity (e.g., schools, hangouts, party spots).

    Synonyms: jawn, (archaic) shebang

    It was the kind of joint you wouldn't want your boss to see you in.

    • 1996, Deirdre Purcell, Roses After Rain, page 335:

      "...Where's the ladies' in this joint? I've to powder me nose."

    • 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 255:

      For a minute I stayed away from real crowded places like Big Ben's and even the new Ruthless spot, but I hung out in a few smaller Harlem joints when I wasn't running and lifting weights and getting ready for training camp.

    • 2021 August 18, Lee Cobaj, “Best things to do in Hong Kong”, in The Times‎^[1], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-10-25‎^[2]:

      Sham Shui Po might be one of Hong Kong’s poorest neighbourhoods but it has a rich immigrant history and a glut of fantastic street-food joints.

    2. (slang, dated) A place of resort for tramps.
    4. (slang, US, dated) An opium den.
    6. (slang, with the definite article) Prison, jail, or lockup.

       I'm just trying to stay out of the joint.

11. (slang) A marijuana cigarette.

    After locking the door and closing the shades, they lit the joint.

    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:marijuana cigarette

12. (slang, dated) A syringe used to inject an illicit drug.
    • 1954, Listen, volumes 7-10, page 131:

      Captain Jack McMahon, chief of Houston's police narcotics division, holds tools of the “junkie” trade, including “joints” (syringes), needles, heroin, milk sugar (used to cut pure heroin), spoons for heating a shot of heroin (mixed with water), […]

13. (US, slang) The penis.

    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:penis

    • 1957, Jack Kerouac, chapter 1, in On the Road, Viking Press, →OCLC, part 4:

      Inez called up Camille on the phone repeatedly and had long talks with her; they even talked about his joint, or so Dean claimed.

    • 1969, Philip Roth, “Cunt Crazy”, in Portnoy’s Complaint‎^[3], New York: Vintage, published 1994, page 158:

      There I was, going down at last on the star of all those pornographic films that I had been producing in my head since I first laid a hand upon my own joint . . .

    • 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 17:

      "Good, then," I said, my joint about to skeet like a water pistol. I was surprised too. I was known for having supreme dick control, and I could usually last a lot longer than this.

14. (originally an idiolectic sense) A thing.

    a Spike Lee joint

    Compare: jawn

joint (third-person singular simple present joints, present participle jointing, simple past and past participle jointed)

1. (transitive) To unite by a joint or joints; to fit together; to prepare so as to fit together

   to joint boards

   a jointing plane

   • 1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

     Pierced through the yielding planks of jointed wood.

   • 2014 August 17, Jeff Howell, “Home improvements: Repairing and replacing floorboards [print version: Never buy anything from a salesman, 16 August 2014, p. P7]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Property)‎^[4]:

     But I must warn you that chipboard floors are always likely to squeak. The material is still being used in new-builds, but developers now use adhesive to bed and joint it, rather than screws or nails. I suspect the adhesive will eventually embrittle and crack, resulting in the same squeaking problems as before.

2. (transitive) To join; to connect; to unite; to combine.
   • c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

     But soon that war had end, and the time's state
     Made friends of them, jointing their force 'gainst Caesar

3. (transitive) To provide with a joint or joints; to articulate.
   • 1691, John Ray, The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of the Creation. […], London: […] Samuel Smith, […], →OCLC:

     The fingers are […] jointed together for motion.

4. (transitive) To separate the joints; of; to divide at the joint or joints; to disjoint; to cut up into joints, as meat.
   • 1603, Plutarch, “[The Morals, or Miscellane Works of Plutarch. The Second Tome.] The Seventh Book. Of Symposiaques, or Banquet-Discourses.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Philosophie, Commonlie Called, The Morals […], London: […] Arnold Hatfield, →OCLC, page 750:

     Another time alſo being minded to entertain king Priamus friendly, when he came unto his pavilion: / He then beſtir'd himſelfe, and caught up ſoone, / A good white ſheepe, whoſe throat he cut anon. / but about cutting it up, quartering, jointing, ſeething, and roſting, he ſpent a great part of the night: […]

   • 1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

     He joints the neck.

5. (intransitive) To fit as if by joints; to coalesce as joints do.

   the stones joint, neatly.

• “joint”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Borrowed from English joint.

• IPA^(key): /dʒɔi̯nt/

joint (plural joints)

1. (slang) joint, marijuana cigarette

   Synonyms: daggazol, zol

Borrowed from English joint.

• IPA^(key): /dʒɔi̯nt/, /dʒoːi̯nt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: joint

joint m (plural joints, diminutive jointje n)

1. joint, marijuana cigarette (generally larger than a stickie)

   Synonyms: jonko, stickie, wietsigaret

• IPA^(key): /ʒwɛ̃/

• Audio (France):

  (file)

• Homophones: joins, joints

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

joint (feminine jointe, masculine plural joints, feminine plural jointes)

1. past participle of joindre

From the past participle of the verb joindre, or from Latin iūnctus.

joint m (plural joints)

1. seal

• joint de culasse
• jointer

English joint.

joint m (plural joints)

1. (informal) joint, spliff (marijuana cigarette)

• “joint”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

joint m (feminine singular jointe, masculine plural joins, feminine plural jointes)

1. past participle of joindre

Past participle of joindre, corresponding to Latin iūnctus.

joint oblique singular, m (oblique plural joinz or jointz, nominative singular joinz or jointz, nominative plural joint)

1. join; place where two elements are joined together

• Middle French: joint
  • French: joint
• Middle English: joynt, jointe, jount, goint, geynte
  • English: joint
  • Yola: geint, gent, jent, jeint
  • → Irish: siúnta

joint

1. past participle of joindre

Unadapted borrowing from English joint, from Middle English joynt, from Old French joint.

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʐɔjnt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔjnt
• Syllabification: joint

joint m inan

1. (slang) joint (marijuana cigarette)

   Synonyms: blant, skręt

• joint in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• joint in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Borrowed from English joint.

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒojnt/

joint n (plural jointuri)

1. joint (bar)
2. joint (marijuana cigarette)

   Hai să fumăm un joint. ― Let's smoke a joint.

• (Sweden) IPA^(key): /jɔɪnt/, /dʒɔɪnt/

• Audio; “joint, eller joint” /ˈdʒɔɪnt ˈɛlɛr ˈjɔɪnt/:

  (file)

joint c

1. a joint, a marijuana cigarette