as in joke
something said or done to cause laughter
a close-knit family constantly exchanging lighthearted joshes at the dinner table
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as in to joke
to make jokes
a very outgoing man who joshes with everyone he meets
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Recent Examples of josh
Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 12 Feb. 2025
Hudson’s accordion seems to come strolling in from a sidewalk serenade to meet Helm’s amused, exasperated vocal, joshing him along with countermelodies, trills and wheezily encouraging chords.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
Elwood experiences some of the usual rigors of prison and reform school: the bullying, the joshing around, the discipline, the abuse.
—K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 13 Dec. 2024
Bale, speaking in a bland, hollow voice that has the slightest hint of frat-boy joshing, delivers a piece of polished, satiric archness that goes well beyond the obvious allegorical gag (capitalism = murder) into ... what, exactly?
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 9 Mar. 2024
The movie’s best moments are the ones in which Mary and Paul camp out in front of the TV, drinking whiskey and joshing each other well into the wee hours.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2023
For over four decades, since taking over from Chuck Woolery, Sajak has been at that spot, joshing with Vanna White, heaving the wheel on final spins, wincing at Bankrupts and tethering exuberant winners.
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 13 June 2023
Ripa—expertly self-deprecatory, humble in the face of escalating absurdities—joshed that their attendance was a form of punishment, and instead courted the home viewer’s attention.
—Troy Patterson, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2020
Last June, at an annual gathering of military bigwigs in Singapore, France’s defence minister joshed her British counterpart by pointing out that the previous year both had vied to send more frigates to the Shangri-La Dialogue than the other.
—The Economist, 14 Nov. 2019
Verb
The family joshing and loving is great fun here; both Liss and Montana are terrific, live-wire young performers, thanks surely in part to Alex Mallory’s direction, and Rifai has given them a banquet of vibrant lines.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 12 Feb. 2025
Hudson’s accordion seems to come strolling in from a sidewalk serenade to meet Helm’s amused, exasperated vocal, joshing him along with countermelodies, trills and wheezily encouraging chords.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
Elwood experiences some of the usual rigors of prison and reform school: the bullying, the joshing around, the discipline, the abuse.
—K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 13 Dec. 2024
Bale, speaking in a bland, hollow voice that has the slightest hint of frat-boy joshing, delivers a piece of polished, satiric archness that goes well beyond the obvious allegorical gag (capitalism = murder) into ... what, exactly?
—Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 9 Mar. 2024
The movie’s best moments are the ones in which Mary and Paul camp out in front of the TV, drinking whiskey and joshing each other well into the wee hours.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2023
For over four decades, since taking over from Chuck Woolery, Sajak has been at that spot, joshing with Vanna White, heaving the wheel on final spins, wincing at Bankrupts and tethering exuberant winners.
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 13 June 2023
Ripa—expertly self-deprecatory, humble in the face of escalating absurdities—joshed that their attendance was a form of punishment, and instead courted the home viewer’s attention.
—Troy Patterson, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2020
Last June, at an annual gathering of military bigwigs in Singapore, France’s defence minister joshed her British counterpart by pointing out that the previous year both had vied to send more frigates to the Shangri-La Dialogue than the other.
—The Economist, 14 Nov. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for josh
Noun
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The joke being: Champagnes are sparkling wines that come only from the Champagne region of France.—
Timothy DePeugh,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Mar. 2025
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The joke sparked a furious backlash within Shinde’s Hindu supremacist Shiv Sena political party.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN,
25 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Huang may have been kidding, but Nvidia spent much of its event detailing just how much better its Blackwell chips are.—
Kif Leswing,
CNBC,
26 Mar. 2025
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After a day on the slopes at Lost Trail, make your way to the tiny town of Jackson, which will make Philipsburg and Anaconda seem like large metropolitan areas (kidding, kinda).—
Will McGough,
Forbes.com,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The duchess gave an exaggerated shrug before stifling a laugh.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Mar. 2025
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The friendly exes were spotted sharing a laugh at a paintball party for their youngest child on March 2 to celebrate Samuel becoming a teenager, as seen in photos shared by Page Six.—
Hannah Sacks,
People.com,
25 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Along with Leto, Greta Lee, Evan Peters and Gillian Anderson’s characters are teased in the minute-and-a-half-long trailer, which also features a voice appearance from Bridges.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
5 Apr. 2025
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The monkeys did it Since the very first episode, people online have been speculating that the monkeys often seen in ambient shots of Thailand’s nature are to blame for the ultimate shootout teased in this season’s opening scene.—
Alli Rosenbloom,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The most comprehensive sally, of course, is the administration’s drastic and abrupt cut in funding by the National Institutes of Health.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Feb. 2025
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Most recently, the Kremlin has settled on a strategy that involves legal sallies against international digital companies—including Apple, Facebook, Google, and Twitter.—
Andrei Soldatov,
Foreign Affairs,
3 Nov. 2015
Noun
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Based on previous research, archeologists know that Mongolians in this period were nomadic pastoralists, rotating herds of ruminants like sheep, goats, and yaks between pastures.—
Joshua Rapp Learn,
Discover Magazine,
25 June 2024
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The three-year-old female yak was initially misidentified as a bison, a follow-up Facebook post stated.—
Graeme Taskerud,
The Denver Post,
7 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Josh.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/josh. Accessed 8 Apr. 2025.
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