joy ride

noun

A ride in a vehicle taken solely for pleasure or enjoyment, especially a vehicle ride taken with no particular goal or purpose and just for the pleasure or enjoyment of a vehicle ride.

Meanings

nounjoy ride (plural joy rides)

plural joy rides

  1. Alternative form of joyride
    1. A ride in a vehicle taken solely for pleasure or enjoyment, especially a vehicle ride taken with no particular goal or purpose and just for the pleasure or enjoyment of a vehicle ride.

      Kielcheski arrived at 8.45 pm in a silver Jeep Cherokee, and the two went on what was later found to be a local joy ride, smoking marijuana.

      2026 July 27, Nicholas Muhoro, “The Disappearance of Kayla Berg and the Condemned House Where Her Trail Ended”, in Skip Boring, archived from the original on 28 Jul 2026
    2. A very pleasant experience.

      Last night’s season 11 finale of Bones titled, “The Nightmare in the Nightmare,” definitely took us on a climactic joy ride in what felt like a hybrid of the classic horror films, "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Saw."

      2016 July 22, Nicholas Muhoro, “‘Bones’ Recap Season 11 Finale, Episode 22: ‘The Nightmare in the Nightmare’”, in U Interview, archived from the original on 25 Sep 2022
verbjoy ride (third-person singular simple present joy rides, present participle joy riding, simple past joy rode, past participle joy ridden)

present singular third person joy rides · participle present joy riding · past joy rode · participle past joy ridden

  1. alternativeAlternative form of joyride.
Cite this entry
APA

joy ride. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/joy%20ride

MLA

“joy ride.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/joy%20ride. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “joy ride,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/joy%20ride.

Source: joy ride on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.