1A point at which parts of an artificial structure are joined.

1. 1.1 A particular arrangement of parts of a structure at the point where they are joined.
   members connected together by rigid joints

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Thanks to a new joint and crossbar arrangement for the car's load-bearing structure, the bodyshell stiffness is increased by 25 percent over its predecessor.
   • He soon knew every inch of the 1400 parts of the bridge and spent years filing the multitude of dovetail joints which hold the construction together.
2. 1.2Geology A break or fracture in a mass of rock, with no relative displacement of the parts.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Where the original rock had been Grade II or better, this had resulted in the rock being fractured and in joints being opened.
   • Some of these master joints continue over the surface for hundreds of metres.
   • Fluorite-quartz intergrowths fill veins that follow high-angle en echelon joints and minor faults in granite.
   • Subsurface evidence from drilling shows that these folds were fractured intensively by small-scale faults and closely spaced joints.
   • Another fracture system consists of relief-related joints.
3. 1.3 A piece of flexible material forming the hinge of a book cover.

2A structure in the human or animal body at which two parts of the skeleton are fitted together.

1. 2.1 Each of the distinct sections of a body or limb between the places at which they are connected.
   the top two joints of his index finger

   Example sentencesExamples

   • You want to be able to get the distal joint of your trigger finger onto the trigger.
   • Cut at an angle to create shapes the length of the first joint of your index finger.
2. 2.2British A large piece of meat cooked whole or ready for cooking.
   a joint of ham

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The Italians had a great idea when they hit upon the idea of cooking joints of meat and pasta in the same pot.
   • The key to successful spit-roasting is to keep the coals at an even temperature, placing more coals, little and often, until the joint is cooked.
   • For me, an ideal meal would be a joint of lamb cooked in the Aga at home, with plenty of fresh vegetables from my garden.
   • Lukoszevieze brandishes a meat cleaver and brings it down on a substantial joint of meat.
   • If you have ever hacked into a joint of meat you will know it is difficult to cut through bone.
   • These included not only the normal range of meat joints and poultry, but also whole cattle and sheep.
   • It's Christmas, the joint of beef is on trial, and you are about to make the best gravy of your life.
   • She would get a huge joint of beef or lamb for about two shillings and they would put 2lb of sausages in for free.
   • Deglaze with the sherry vinegar and cook until reduced by half, then return the pork joint to the pan.
   • Large pieces of tuna may be braised like joints of meat.
   • Jane was in the kitchen cooking a joint of beef ready for when Daddy got home.
   • And then I plainly saw, both with wonder and delight that the joint of meat did, in some places, shine like rotten wood or stinking fish.
   • Large stew pans, shown full of joints of meat, had straight sides and flat bases.
   • And since the joint of meat was large enough to feed a family several times over, there was almost a routine to the week's menus.
   • West Country lambs are particularly large, and the joint is packed with meat all the way to the top of the chop.
   • A few minutes earlier I had placed a basketball-sized joint of beef in the fork of a tree five feet off the ground.
   • Half-past one on the dot, after my dad had returned from the pub, the joint of meat would be ceremoniously carved.
   • Turn the meat and cook until the joint is evenly browned and crusted all over.
   • Meat pies, joints of mutton, and other hearty foods are most likely to be served.
   • Large meat joints or whole poultry need special care.
3. 2.3 The part of a stem of a plant from which a leaf or branch grows.
   cut just below a leaf joint

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Cut back a few inches to within 1/8 inch of a leaf joint.
   • After flowering, if there are no ornamental seed heads, the flowering stems may be cut back to a leaf joint to remove the faded flowers.
   • Take plenty to allow for any failures and trim each one just below a leaf joint so the cutting is about 10 cm long.
   • Using a sharp, clean knife or clippers, cut the tip of a side shoot that has at least three leaf joints.
   • Trim the cutting just below a leaf joint and dip the end in rooting hormone powder or liquid.
   • Make a cut below a leaf joint and dip the cutting in hormone rooting powder before inserting it into an open peat-free compost and perlite mix.
   • Always make the base cut of your cutting below a node or leaf joint.
   • Like all grasses, sugar cane has a jointed stem, and its leaves and branches come from the shoots at each joint.
   • Helxine soleirolii (mind-your-own-business) looks like a fragile weed but it spreads by rooting at the leaf joints.
   • First remove several stems about the thickness of a pencil from the shrub and trim them to a length of around 30 cm just below a leaf joint.
   • The underground and aboveground stems send out roots from each joint.
4. 2.4 A section of a plant stem between two joints; an internode.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • It acts perpendicular to the cross section of the joint.
   • Sometimes your older, established plants will have roots already growing from the segment joints.
   • For this study as with previous studies, stem joints were defined as the smallest diameter region between two successive stem segments.
   • Prune last year's growth back to two or three joints or buds from the base.

3informal An establishment of a specified kind, especially one where people meet for eating, drinking, or entertainment.

1. 3.1the jointNorth American Prison.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • The world is out of joint, so why bother plastering?
   • And unlike the joint in Indy where boxing was a no-no, the jail in Cali specializes in fights between hardened criminals.
   • Such is life in the big house, the joint, or the pokey.
   • Mr. X's drawing of the joint was not so much useless as directed at a different objective.

4informal A cannabis cigarette.

5US informal A piece of creative work, especially a musical recording.

1attributive Shared, held, or made by two or more people together.

1. 1.1 Sharing in a position, achievement, or activity.
   a joint winner

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Another objective of the report is securing greater and continued support from the trade for joint tourism development activity.
   • A large centre in the same city co-ordinates joint business activities.
   • U.S. military activities include joint exercises, training, and active arms sales to rich Arab Gulf states.
   • The memorandum said that maximising the benefits of joint activities in the areas of investment and re-equipment would be a key focus for both.
   • The pension companies will come up with a joint position on their participation in the pension reform.
   • Perhaps we were still a bit dehydrated but nothing could take away the feeling of euphoria we had at our joint achievement.
   • I support joint activities with our ally when it is proper or expedient to do so (and especially when it is both proper and expedient).
   • They spent time at each other's houses and went on joint holidays.
   • Most of the joint task force positions will earn joint-duty credit depending on actual length of rotation, officials said.
   • It has Sweden and Greece in joint favourites position, at 7-1, followed by Doran at 8-1.
   • Once it has been established that the local infrastructures of two cities support joint activities and projects, the hard work starts.
   • The weak points of each school become apparent when joint practices are held.
   • Marie is bringing her accounting skills to help the finance management of the club and takes up the position of joint treasurer.
   • Three years later, he became joint managing director with finance director Tom Jenkinson.
   • The pool itself will be linked to the activity zone with a joint reception.
   • Drafters of the roadmap also hope to encourage collaboration by funding more joint research.
   • He cannot therefore be liable as a joint tortfeasor with the company.
   • However, opportunities for more formalized joint sessions on a regular basis might be explored.
   • They say the two governments have agreed a joint position, bar a spot of fine-tuning on key issues like policing, and this in itself is a major achievement.
   • The award is a joint achievement by everyone at the site and I'm tremendously proud of every single employee.
2. 1.2Law Applied or regarded together.
   Often contrasted with several

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Joint tenancy is joint ownership and possession of the same property.
   • In a joint statement the couple described their break-up as " a very tough decision".
   • The history of this is in fact set out in the joint judgment of Justices Gummow and Hayne in Angas Law Services.
   • In any event, the RVP samples tested by Mr Cooper are properly to be regarded as the joint property of AIC and Mobil.
   • In a joint statement both parties said that their High Court dispute had been " settled amicably".

1Provide or fasten (something) with joints.

1. 1.1 Fill up the joints of (masonry or brickwork) with mortar; point.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • However, the gill arches seem to be jointed and they appear to be closely related to paired fin-folds on the anaspid model.
   • Tightly jointed stonework complements the house's crisp lines and ties it to the site, part of a former farm.
   • The walls are columnar jointed and aphanitic, and internally the massive core is texturally zoned.
   • At the precipice of the roof, a stairwell circled its way to the bottom floor, where it jointed itself to a room that was probably once a bar.
   • All parking lots must be jointed, with the joint spacing depending on the pavement thickness.
   • The second seems to have a similar simple verticality when seen through the portal, but within the room shows itself to be jointed and angled.
   • Possible tell-tale signs in this connection is any evidence of algae staining/open jointed brickwork to the rear, adjacent to such fixed pipes.
2. 1.2 Prepare (a board) for being joined to another by planing its edge.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Be certain that the edges are properly jointed with no space between the boards.
   • You can use a router to cut mortises for hardware, to joint and trim lumber, to create recesses for decorative inlays, and much more.
   • Self-bows are those which are made fully of wood, either a single stave, or a pair of shorter staves, usually jointed at the handle, giving a single length.
   • As I set about planing, jointing, gluing and sanding the pieces, I also began a creative argument with the wood.
   • The timbers are often cut and dressed by hand, jointed and interlocked in the traditional way, and fastened throughout with wood pegs.

2Cut (the body of an animal) into joints for cooking.