Dictionary
Thesaurus
Medical
Scrabble®
Spanish Central
Browse DictionaryBrowse Thesaurus
Get our free apps!iPhone•iPad•Android
Games
Word of the Day
Video
Blog: Words at Play
My Faves
Dictionary

joss

noun \ˈjäs, ˈjȯs\

Definition of JOSS

:  a Chinese idol or cult image
ADVERTISEMENT

Origin of JOSS

Chinese Pidgin English, from Portuguese deus god, from Latin — more at deity
First Known Use: 1711

Rhymes with JOSS

boss, doss, dross, floss, fosse, gloss, Kos, Maas, os, pross, stoss, toss

Browse

5 ENTRIES FOUND:
  1. joss
  2. joss flower
  3. joss house
  4. joss paper
  5. joss stick
Next Word in the Dictionary: josserPrevious Word in the Dictionary: joskinAll Words Near: joss
ADVERTISEMENT
10 Charming Words for Nasty People
Put-downs with flair
Learn More
When "Literally" isn't, well, literal
How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.
Watch Now
Know what this is?
Test your vocab with our fun, fast game
Go Play
Fear of cats?
Ailurophobia, and 9 other unusual fears
Learn More
Join Us
Merriam-Webster
on Facebook
Merriam-Webster
on Twitter
Bookstore: Digital and Print
Merriam-Webster references for Mobile, Kindle, print, and more.
See All
Other Merriam-Webster Dictionaries