a place in the body where two bones meet and can move
The doctor said the pain in my knee joint should improve with rest.
Yoga helps keep every joint in the body flexible.
✦ Middle English, from Old French ‘joint’, from Latin ‘junctus’, the past participle of ‘jungere’ meaning “to join”.
the point where two parts of an object or structure are connected
The carpenter added glue to each wooden joint for extra strength.
Loose metal joints in the bridge must be tightened regularly.
shared or done together by two or more people, groups, or things
They opened a joint bank account after getting married.
The companies issued a joint statement about the merger.
a small, inexpensive restaurant, bar, or club
They grabbed burgers at a roadside joint on their way home.
The jazz band plays live every Friday at the downtown joint.
to cut meat into large pieces suitable for cooking or serving
The butcher carefully jointed the chicken for our stew.
I watched a video on how to joint a rabbit before roasting it.
✦ From Old French ‘joindre’ meaning “to join”; the culinary sense arose in the 17th century for dividing a carcass at its joints.
a hand-rolled cigarette containing marijuana
He lit a joint and passed it around the campfire.
Police confiscated several joints at the music festival.
✦ Slang use recorded from the 1930s in the United States; origin uncertain, possibly from earlier slang “joint” meaning place, later applied to the rolled cigarette.
