: any of the small timbers or metal beams ranged parallel from wall to wall in a structure to support a floor or ceiling
Illustration of joist
J joist
Examples of joist in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebThe headquarters was mostly beams and joists, with no walls yet constructed.—Emily Brindley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 May 2024 Built largely from intersecting beams of laminated timber and slim steel girders, the structure stands like scaffolding among native fruit trees, a bare framework of joists and crossbeams supporting the boxes of steel and wood that contain the home’s rooms.—Michael Snyder Ana Topoleanu, New York Times, 10 May 2024 Lawns fade into water, which looks swollen and rises right to the joists of the bridges that connect each driveway to the main road.—Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, 11 Apr. 2024 The sophisticated wood artifacts from Schöningen join finds from just a scattering of other sites, such as 476,000-year-old wood joists from Zambia published last year and spears and other tools found elsewhere in Europe.—Byandrew Curry, science.org, 1 Apr. 2024 The hardware must be secured into a ceiling joist for proper support.—Hannah Bruneman, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Aug. 2023 Rotted wood structural parts, such as floor joists or wall studs.—Abieyuwa Aghayere, Discover Magazine, 20 Jan. 2024 Several were built with load-bearing construction techniques, meaning the exterior masonry walls support the weight of the building with wooden joists bracing the floors and ceilings, Roberts said.—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Jan. 2024 First, a windstorm blows in, so powerful that roof after roof is torn from its joists and sails off into the night; the few brave souls who venture outdoors fill their pockets with iron and brass to keep from being swept away.—Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'joist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English giste, joiste, from Anglo-French giste, from Vulgar Latin *jacitum, from Latin jacēre to lie — more at adjacent
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