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joint

joint

268 5.1
An informal place like a bar or club
  • noun
  • /dʒɔɪnt/
  • Informal
: local
  • Street corners in African American neighborhoods are crowded with rib joints, chicken takeout stands, and fish markets.
  • fast-food joint
  • a food joint
  • a juke joint

Anyway, we went to this little Italian joint in Geneva.

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Examples

  • No, never judge a hamburger joint by its cover.

  • Anyway, we went to this little Italian joint in Geneva.

  • Well, this is your joint, right?

  • So it's a fast food joint, but it's called Superman.

  • This is supposed to be a nice local neighborhood joint like Domino's.

  • Once a year there was a burger joint in Traverse City.

  • And this is just a little bitty joint on the side of the freeway.

  • The editor liked my description of my favorite ice cream joint, Ivanhoe's restaurant in Upland.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson, and Howlin' Wolf often played Clarksdale's street corners, juke joints, and surrounding plantations.

    Academic text (2018)
  • This café is a cozy little joint where locals love to hang out.

Synonyms

club
vsjoint
∞ 1.2

A place with music and dancing where people go at night

is more general and used for any casual place not only dance venues
nightclub
vsjoint
150 1.6

A place open late at night with music and dancing where people buy drinks

is broader and applies to casual places beyond late-night entertainment spots
saloon
vsjoint
62 5.8

A place where people drink alcohol and talk

is informal and applies to many casual social places beyond drinking spots
cantina
vsjoint
  • US
14 3.9

A small bar or restaurant that serves drinks and simple food

is more general and not limited to small places serving simple food
watering hole
vsjoint
  • Informal
11 3.4

A bar or pub where people meet to drink and talk

is broader and used for any casual place not only places for drinking
juke joint
vsjoint
  • Informal
5 9.5

A small informal place in the southern United States where people eat, drink, and dance to blues from a jukebox

is more general and not tied to a region or rustic style
gin mill
vsjoint
  • Archaic
3 8.8

A cheap bar where people drink and are often rowdy

is casual but does not suggest cheapness or disreputable quality
jook joint
vsjoint
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A small lively place in the southern United States where people eat, drink, and dance to music

is broader and used beyond the regional rustic establishments

Idioms

3 9.2

Feeling annoyed because someone ignored you or treated you badly

Compounds

95 4.1

Group of senior military leaders who advise the President of the United States on military matters

A group of top military leaders who advise the President of the United States

29 4.4

A business project by two or more companies that share resources, risks, and profits

13 7.6

A bar or club where dancers take off their clothes for paying customers

5 7.2

A decision passed by both houses that becomes law when the president signs it or a veto is rejected

juke joint
  • Informal
5 9.5

A small informal place in the southern United States where people eat, drink, and dance to blues from a jukebox

joint return
  • Formal
3 5.6

A tax return that a married couple files together to report their combined income and deductions

3 2.3

The place where the thigh meets the lower leg, protected by a kneecap

ankle joint
  • Specialized
2 2.5

The joint where the foot meets the leg and bends

hip joint
  • Specialized
2 3.5

The place where the top of the thigh bone fits into the hip bone to let the leg move

shoulder joint
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A joint where the round top of the arm bone fits into the shoulder blade to move the arm

ball-and-socket joint
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A joint where a round bone end fits into a cup, allowing movement in many directions

clip joint
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A place like a bar or nightclub that charges high prices and tricks customers

1 3.0

A hinge between the upper arm and lower arm that lets the arm bend

1 5.5

A joint that connects the lower jaw to the skull and lets the jaw open and close

butt joint
  • Specialized
1 6.7

A connection of two pieces of wood or metal placed end to end without overlapping

fetlock joint
  • Specialized
1 9.1

The joint in a horse's lower leg where a main leg bone meets a short foot bone

joint-stock company
  • Specialized
1 4.9

A business owned by many people who buy shares to own part and share profits and losses

synovial joint
  • Specialized
1 4.4

A joint in the body that lets bones move freely and contains slippery fluid

1 4.3

A long-lasting condition where joint cartilage slowly breaks down causing pain and stiffness

1 8.6

A U.S. military kit that turns a regular bomb dropped from a plane into a precise guided bomb

1 5.9

Two or more people are each responsible for the same debt and may have to pay it

hinge joint
  • Specialized
1 4.3

A joint that lets a body part move mainly in one direction like a knee or elbow

1 4.2

A person who writes a book or article together with another person, sharing credit

universal joint
  • Specialized
1 5.3

A small part that connects two turning shafts at different angles and passes power between them

artificial joint
  • Specialized
1 3.8

A metal or plastic part a surgeon puts into the body to replace a joint like a hip

wrist joint
  • Specialized
1 3.8

The place where the lower arm meets the hand that lets the hand move

mortise joint
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A strong wooden joint where a peg from one piece fits into a hole in another

A part that connects two pieces and lets one move compared to the other

1 8.2

A strong wood connection where a peg on one piece fits into a hole in another piece

interphalangeal joint
  • Specialized
1 7.4

The place where two small bones meet in a finger or toe

1 4.4

A metal piece with two long straps that lets a door or lid open and close

miter joint
  • Specialized
1 7.5

A corner where two pieces of wood join with their ends cut at an angle

joint probability
  • Specialized
1 6.7

The chance that both events happen at the same time

1 8.8

The place where a finger meets the hand at its base

pivot joint
  • Specialized
1 5.7

A joint that lets one bone turn around another bone

dovetail joint
  • Specialized
1 6.6

A strong connection in wood made by fitting interlocking angled pieces together

jook joint
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A small lively place in the southern United States where people eat, drink, and dance to music

lap joint
  • Specialized
1 5.8

A place where two pieces lie on top of each other and are fastened together

mandibular joint
  • Specialized
1 4.7

The place where the lower jaw meets the skull near the ear

The place on a finger where two bones meet, visible when making a fist

mortise joint
  • Specialized
1 9.1

The joint between the lower leg bones and the top bone of the foot that forms the ankle

A joint in the body that is swollen, painful, and stiff for a long time

1 4.9

A way of joining wooden boards by fitting an edge into a matching slot to make a flat strong surface

rotary joint
  • Specialized
1 6.1

A connection between two parts that lets one part turn around a single straight line like in the forearm

hock-joint
  • Specialized
1 9.6

A joint in the back leg of animals like horses similar to a human ankle

scarf joint
  • Specialized
1 9.0

A connection where two pieces are shaped to fit end to end to form a longer piece

rabbet joint
  • Specialized
1 9.5

A way to join two pieces of wood by cutting matching grooves so their edges fit together

slip-joint pliers
  • Specialized
1 5.6

A hand tool with a joint you can move to make the jaws open wider

fibrous joint
  • Specialized
1 7.9

A place where bones are held by strong tissue and do not move, often in the skull

ginglymoid joint
  • Specialized
1 9.3

A place where two bones meet and move like a hinge in one direction

radiocarpal joint
  • Specialized
1 6.1

A joint where the end of the forearm bone meets the first row of wrist bones

gliding joint
  • Specialized
1 6.8

A joint that lets small bones slide past each other without turning

cotyloid joint
  • Specialized
9.9

A joint where a rounded bone end fits into a cup socket to allow movement in many directions

cubital joint
  • Specialized
6.8

A joint that bends the arm where the upper arm meets the forearm, like the elbow

enarthrodial joint
  • Specialized
9.9

A joint where a rounded bone end fits into a cup in another bone, like the hip or shoulder

8.4

A joint with pain, stiffness, or swelling from arthritis

fish joint
  • Specialized
8.7

A joint where metal plates and bolts join two rails or beams end to end

foot joint
  • Specialized
8.1

The last part of a flute that holds the lowest keys

knuckle joint
  • Specialized
5.6

A connection that lets two rods or bars move in only one direction

joint fir
  • Specialized
9.9

A desert shrub with jointed green stems, almost no leaves, and small red seeds

9.9

A legless lizard like a snake that sheds and regrows its tail

A hand tool with a moving joint and jaws for gripping different sizes

rotatory joint
  • Specialized
7.0

A joint in the body that lets a bone turn only around one straight line

5.7

The upper part of a chicken leg between the drumstick and the body

toggle joint
  • Specialized
8.8

Two arms connected at a hinge that straighten to push hard at their ends

spheroid joint
  • Specialized
7.4

A joint where a round bone end fits in a cup, letting movement in all directions

How Informal

dive
  • Slang
26 7.9
joint
  • Informal
268 5.1
bar
∞ 1.0
restaurant
∞ 1.0
establishment
127 3.8

Surface Forms

joint singular
joints plural

Etymology

Joint: The slang sense of joint for a bar or club comes from an old word meaning 'joined' or a simple place where people meet. Think of it as a spot where people 'join' together, which is why a cheap, casual place can be called a 'joint'.