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🤺 A knight contest 🤺 To fight with lances 🗣️ To compete or argue
to joust

to joust

3 7.5
To argue directly with someone in public or in a debate
  • verb
  • /dʒaʊst/
translation icon : discutir
  • During the debate, the candidates jousted over various policies, each trying to claim the upper hand.
  • jousted with each other
  • two rivals jousted

And you can just watch him joust, if that's what you're into.

Examples

  • In the meeting, team members jousted with each other about the best approach to the project.

  • How dare you want to joust with me?

    Scary Movie 3 (2003)

  • Why are you jousting with me?

    Drive-Away Dolls (2024)

  • It soon became apparent that both sides were jousting for control of the mass media.

    Academic text (1994)

  • How do you think I'm free to spend night and day verbally jousting with members of a political party I find to be selfish, mean-spirited, and racist?

    Blog text (32)

  • At the time, Carthage and Rome were jousting for supremacy over the Mediterranean in a century-long series of bitter battles known as the Punic Wars.

    Academic text (2007)

  • During the discussion, the professors jousted over differing theories of economics.

Synonyms

to argue
vsto joust
607 1.1

To speak angrily with someone because you disagree

is more formal and competitive, not an angry personal quarrel
to spar
vsto joust
5 7.1

To argue in a friendly, quick way without serious anger

is more formal and public, focused on direct competitive debate
to cross swords
vsto joust
  • Informal
5 6.8

Argue strongly with someone, often in public

is typically more formal and public, framed as a direct contest

Antonyms

to agree
∞ 1.0

Have the same opinion or say yes

to reconcile
38 5.1

To become friendly again after a disagreement

How Confrontational

clash
105 3.2
to joust
3 7.5
to debate
474 2.8
to spar
5 7.1
to discuss
∞ 1.6

Surface Forms

joust infinitive
jousted past
jousted past participle
jousting present participle
jousts third person singular

Etymology

A helpful way to remember the figurative use of joust is to think of two people meeting like knights in a contest; the word comes from juxta 'near', so to joust can mean to compete or argue directly, face to face.