1
a
: a feeling of great happiness or pleasure : delight
Seeing you happy gives me such joy.
They were shouting/jumping for joy. [=they shouted/jumped because they were very happy]
b
: the expression or exhibition of such emotion
a gathering full of joy and laughter
2
: a state of great happiness : bliss
wishes of love, joy, and peace for all
3
: a source or cause of delight
The sun is the joy and the sorrow of the people. It destroys their crops while it warms them with the heat they could not live without.—
Maia Wojciechowska
Maia WojciechowskaDiscovering something new is one of the great joys of eating out.—Tim Fish
Tim FishThe old boat was his pride and joy.
The baby is a little bundle of joy.
joyed; joying; joys
Examples of joy in a Sentence
Noun
Their sorrow turned to joy.
I can hardly express the joy I felt at seeing her again.
Seeing her again brought tears of joy to my eyes.
The flowers are a joy to behold!
What a joy it was to see her again.
Verb
the whole town is joying in the fact that its oldest church has been restored to its Victorian splendor
Recent Examples on the Web
Kelley Cours Anderson, The Conversation, 17 Nov. 2025
Fashion can bring so much joy, and putting together this edit did just that for me—what else are feathers for?
—Talia Abbas, Vogue, 17 Nov. 2025
Finding a dog that’s a good match will lead to many years of joy together.
—Madeline Gunderson, USA Today, 16 Nov. 2025
The Bohemian Rhapsody Oscar winner described the whipsaw between the tension being generated on set and the actors’ joy of creating indelible characters and soaking in the lighter moments that added humanity to the story of prosecuting top Nazi officer Hermann Göring, played by Russell Crowe.
—Scott Huver, Deadline, 15 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for joy
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Noun
Think cat videos, TikTok dances and random acts of kindness that deliver joy and distraction from the day-to-day.
—Kelley Cours Anderson, The Conversation, 17 Nov. 2025
Fashion can bring so much joy, and putting together this edit did just that for me—what else are feathers for?
—Talia Abbas, Vogue, 17 Nov. 2025
Finding a dog that’s a good match will lead to many years of joy together.
—Madeline Gunderson, USA Today, 16 Nov. 2025
The Bohemian Rhapsody Oscar winner described the whipsaw between the tension being generated on set and the actors’ joy of creating indelible characters and soaking in the lighter moments that added humanity to the story of prosecuting top Nazi officer Hermann Göring, played by Russell Crowe.
—Scott Huver, Deadline, 15 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for joy
Cite this Entry
“Joy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/joy. Accessed 19 Nov. 2025.
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