enjoy

English

Alternative forms

• enioy, injoy (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English enjoyen, from Old French enjoier, anjoier, enjoer (“to give joy, receive with joy, rejoice”), equivalent to en- +‎ joy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈd͡ʒɔɪ/, /ənˈd͡ʒɔɪ/, /ɛnˈd͡ʒɔɪ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: en‧joy
• Rhymes: -ɔɪ

Verb

enjoy (third-person singular simple present enjoys, present participle enjoying, simple past and past participle enjoyed)

1. (transitive) To receive pleasure or satisfaction from something.

   Enjoy your holidays!   I enjoy dancing.

   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XLVI, page 69:

     And we shall sit at endless feast,
     ⁠Enjoying each the other’s good;
     ⁠What vaster dream can hit the mood
     Of Love on earth?

   • 2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:

     Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.

2. (transitive) To have the use or benefit of something.

   I plan to go travelling while I still enjoy good health.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Numbers 36:8:

     that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers

   • 1922, Agatha Christie, “Chapter 17”, in The Secret Adversary:

     Night and day were the same in this prison room, but Tommy's wrist-watch, which enjoyed a certain degree of accuracy, informed him that it was nine o'clock in the evening.

   • 1988, Harry G Frankfurt, The importance of what we care about: philosophical essays:

     This account fails to provide any basis for doubting that animals of subhuman species enjoy the freedom it defines.

3. (intransitive, India) To be satisfied or receive pleasure.

   I enjoyed a lot.

4. (transitive) To have sexual intercourse with.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     Never did thy Beautie […] so enflame my sense With ardor to enjoy thee.

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing). See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Synonyms

• (receive pleasure or satisfaction): appreciate, delight in, rejoice, relish
• (have sexual intercourse with): coitize, go to bed with, sleep with; see also Thesaurus:copulate with

Derived terms

• disenjoy
• enjoyable
• enjoyment
• enjoy oneself
• enjoy your holiday
• enjoy your meal

 

Translations

to receive pleasure or satisfaction from something

• Albanian: gëzoj (sq)
• American Sign Language: OpenB@Chest-PalmBack-OpenB@Trunk-PalmBack RoundSurface-RoundSurface
• Arabic: اِسْتَمْتَعَ (istamtaʕa), تَمَتَّعَ (tamattaʕa), اِنْبَسَطَ (inbasaṭa)

  South Levantine Arabic: انبسط (inbasaṭ)

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Azerbaijani: həzz almaq
• Basque: gozatu
• Belarusian: насало́джвацца impf (nasalódžvacca), це́шыцца impf (cjéšycca), наце́шыцца pf (nacjéšycca)
• Breton: bourrañ (br)
• Bulgarian: ра́двам се (bg) impf (rádvam se), изпи́твам удово́лствие impf (izpítvam udovólstvie), наслаждавам се impf (naslaždavam se), наслади́ се pf (nasladí se)
• Catalan: gaudir (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 享受 (hoeng² sau⁶)

  Mandarin: 欣賞／欣赏 (zh) (xīnshǎng), 喜愛／喜爱 (zh) (xǐ'ài), 享受 (zh) (xiǎngshòu)

• Corsican: goda (co)
• Czech: bavit se (cs) impf, těšit se (cs) impf
• Dalmatian: gaudar
• Danish: nyde (da)
• Dutch: genieten van
• Esperanto: ĝui
• Estonian: nautima
• Finnish: nauttia (fi)
• French: (with a noun) profiter de, jouir de, (with a verb) apprécier, prendre plaisir (fr)
• Friulian: gjoldi
• Galician: gozar (gl), desfrutar
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: genießen (de), sich erfreuen an (de)
• Gothic: 𐌽𐌹𐌿𐍄𐌰𐌽 (niutan)
• Greek: απολαμβάνω (el) (apolamváno)

  Ancient: τέρπομαι (térpomai)

• Hebrew: נֶהֱנָה (he) (nehená)
• Hindi: आनंद लेना (ānand lenā), मज़े लेना (maze lenā), उपभोग करना (upbhog karnā)
• Hungarian: élvez (hu), szeret (hu)
• Icelandic: njóta (is)
• Ido: juar (io)
• Indonesian: menikmati (id)
• Irish: bain sult as, bain taitneamh as, bain spórt as
• Istriot: guodi
• Italian: godere (it), fare con piacere (it), gioire (it), divertirsi (it)
• Japanese: 楽しむ (ja) (たのし​む, tanoshimu)
• Khmer: រីករាយ (km) (riik riəy)
• Korean: 즐기다 (ko) (jeulgida)
• Ladin: goder
• Latin: fruor
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Lombard: godè (lmo), gudè, god (lmo)
• Luxembourgish: genéissen
• Maltese: igawdu
• Maori: hākinakina
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Neapolitan: gudè
• Ngazidja Comorian: hula
• Norman: joui (Jersey)
• Norwegian: nyte (no)
• Occitan: gaudir (oc), gausir (oc)
• Old English: brūcan
• Old Norse: njóta
• Ottoman Turkish: بگنمك (beğenmek)
• Persian: لذت بردن (fa) (lezzat bordan)
• Polish: cieszyć się (pl) impf, pocieszyć się (pl) pf, podobać się impf (roughly), spodobać się (roughly)
• Portuguese: aproveitar (pt), desfrutar (pt), gozar (pt), curtir (pt), apreciar (pt)
• Quechua: achiy
• Romanian: savura (ro), bucura (ro), distra (ro)
• Romansch: giudair, guder, giuder, galdeir, giodair
• Russian: наслажда́ться (ru) impf (naslaždátʹsja), наслади́ться (ru) pf (nasladítʹsja), получа́ть удово́льствие impf (polučátʹ udovólʹstvije), получи́ть удово́льствие pf (polučítʹ udovólʹstvije)
• Sanskrit: भुनक्ति (sa) (bhunakti), उच्यति (sa) (ucyati), जुषते (sa) (juṣate)
• Sardinian: godire, gudire, bodire, gosae, gosai, gosare
• Scottish Gaelic: còrd ri, meal, gabh tlachd ann
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ужи́вати, густирати

  Roman: užívati (sh), gustirati (sh)

• Sicilian: gòdiri (scn), còliri (scn)
• Slovak: tešiť sa impf, baviť sa impf
• Slovene: uživati
• Spanish: disfrutar (es), gozar (es)
• Swedish: tycka om (sv), njuta (sv)
• Thai: เพลิดเพลิน (th) (plə̂ət-pləən)
• Tocharian B: winā-ññ-
• Turkish: zevk almak, haz almak (tr), eylenmek, eğlenmek (tr)
• Ukrainian: насоло́джуватися impf (nasolódžuvatysja), насолоди́тися pf (nasolodýtysja), усоло́джуватися impf (usolódžuvatysja), усолоди́тися pf (usolodýtysja), ті́шитися (uk) impf (tíšytysja), наті́шитися pf (natíšytysja), зазнава́ти насоло́ди impf (zaznaváty nasolódy), зазна́ти насоло́ди pf (zaznáty nasolódy)
• Venetan: goder, godar
• Vietnamese: thưởng thức (vi)
• Volapük: juitön (vo)
• Welsh: mwynhau (cy)
• Yiddish: געניסן (genisn)

to have the use or benefit of something

• Arabic: حَظِيَ (ḥaẓiya)
• Breton: tañva (br)
• Catalan: gaudir (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 享有 (zh) (xiǎngyǒu), 享受 (zh) (xiǎngshòu), 享用 (zh) (xiǎngyòng), 受用 (zh) (shòuyòng)

• Czech: těšit se (cs) impf
• Dutch: genieten (nl)
• French: jouir de
• German: genießen (de)
• Hebrew: השתמש (he) m (hishtamésh)
• Hungarian: élvez (hu), örvend (hu)
• Italian: usufruire (it), godere (it), beneficiare (it)
• Japanese: 享受する (ja) (きょうじゅする, kyōju suru)
• Korean: 향수하다 (hyangsuhada), 누리다 (ko) (nurida)
• Latin: fruor
• Ngazidja Comorian: hula
• Old English: brūcan
• Portuguese: aproveitar (pt), gozar de (pt), desfrutar de (pt)
• Russian: по́льзоваться (ru) impf (pólʹzovatʹsja)
• Slovene: uživati
• Spanish: disfrutar (es), gozar (es), aprovechar (es)
• Swedish: åtnjuta (sv)
• Vietnamese: hưởng thụ (vi)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} genieten (nl)
• Malayalam: ^{(please verify)} ആസ്വദിയ്ക്കുക (āsvadiykkuka)
• Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} nyte (no), ^{(please verify)} glede seg ved
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} a se delecta
• Romansch: ^{(please verify)} giudair
• Sardinian: ^{(please verify)} godire

Anagrams

• joyen, joyne