joyride
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A ride in a car taken solely for pleasure.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
joyrydSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdʒɔɪɹaɪd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A ride in a car taken solely for pleasure
“They took their girlfriends for joyrides in stolen cars.”
An instance of driving a motor vehicle in a carefree or reckless manner, especially a vehicle which has been taken without the permission of the owner.
figurative
A very pleasant experience.
verb
intransitive
To take a joyride.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A ride in a car taken solely for pleasure
Used this way, joyride is a common word with a mildly favourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“They took their girlfriends for joyrides in stolen cars.”
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “joyride in …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: joyride in …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use joyride
- “They took their girlfriends for joyrides in stolen cars.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.