Standard Lemma guide

joystick

noun · verb · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • joi′stĭk′
  • Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation, Scotland: /ˈd͡ʒɔɪ.stɪk/
  • Australian: /ˈd͡ʒoɪ.stɪk/
  • New-Zealand: /ˈd͡ʒoɪ.stək/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: JH OY1 S T IH2 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A mechanical control device consisting of a handgrip mounted on a base or pedestal and typically having one or more buttons, used to control an aircraft, computer, or other equipment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A penis.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: anaconda, baloney pony, bald-headed hermit, banana, birdie, bobby, boonga, cack, choad, choda, chode, chopper, cigar, cock, corey, crank, cucumber, custard launcher, D, dick, dicklet, diddle, diddly, dingaling, ding-a-ling, ding-dong, dinger, dingle, dingus, dingy, dink, dinkle, dipstick, dirk, disco stick, dog bone, dong, donger, Donkey Kong, doodle, dork, down, fire hose, fuckpole, gherkin, hairy canary, hammer, hog, hot dog, hot rod, hoo-hoo, hooter, it, jade stalk, jamoke, jigger, jimmy, job, jock, johnson, John Thomas, joint, Jonathan, joystick, kielbasa, knob, lad, langer, lingam, love muscle, love stick, love truncheon, love sausage, love wand, machine, magnum, Master John Goodfellow, male member, manhood, man-meat, meat, meat puppet, meat rod, meat scepter, meatstick, meat stick, member, membrum virile, nature's scythe, nob, old chap, old fellow, one-eyed trouser snake, organ, package, pecker, peen, peener, pee-pee, pee-wee, pego, penis, Percy, peter, phallus, pickle, piece, piece of pork, pike, pillicock, pingas, pink cigar, pink oboe, pintle, pipe, pisser, piston, pizzle, plonker, pork sword, prick, pud, purple-headed yogurt slinger, putz, p-word, python, ramrod, rape tool, rod, root, rutter, salami, sausage, schlong, schmuck, sex tool, shaft, shlong, shmekl (q, colloquial, Yiddish), short arm, skin flute, snake, snausage, spitstick, stem, stretcher, sucker, swipe, tadger, tagger, tail, tallywhacker, tarse, thing, thingy, third leg, tic tac, todger, tool, trouser monkey, trouser snake, truncheon, tube steak, unit, virile member, wang, weapon, wee-wee, weenie, weeny, whang, wick, widgie, widdler, wiener, willie, willy, wingwang, winkle, winky, yard, ying-yang

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To maneuver by means of a joystick (noun sense 1).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: rare, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

a manual control consisting of a vertical handle that can move freely in two directions; used as an input device to computers or to devices controlled by computers

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: control, controller, data input device, input device

5

noun

Meaning 5

a lever used by a pilot to control the ailerons and elevators of an airplane

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: stick, control stick

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: lever

History

Etymology

From joy + stick. First attested around 1910 (as joy-stick) as the control stick on an airplane. Its relation to the word joy is unclear.

Across languages

Translations

58 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: عَصَا الْأَلْعَاب (ʕaṣā l-ʔalʕāb) — mechanical control device
  • Arabic: عَصَا التَّحَكُّم فِي الْأَلْعَاب (ʕaṣā t-taḥakkum fī l-ʔalʕāb) — mechanical control device
  • Arabic: يد (yadd) — mechanical control device
  • Azerbaijani: coystik — mechanical control device
  • Bulgarian: джо́йстик (džójstik) — mechanical control device
  • Chinese Mandarin: 控制桿 /控制杆 (kòngzhìgǎn) — mechanical control device
  • Chinese Mandarin: 操縱桿 /操纵杆 (cāozònggǎn) — mechanical control device
  • Czech: joystick — mechanical control device
  • Danish: joystick — mechanical control device
  • Dutch: bedieningshendel — mechanical control device
  • Dutch: stuurknuppel — mechanical control device
  • Dutch: joystick — mechanical control device
  • Finnish: sauvaohjain — mechanical control device
  • Finnish: ohjainsauva — mechanical control device
  • Finnish: ilotikku — mechanical control device
  • Finnish: joystick — mechanical control device
  • French: manche — mechanical control device
  • French: joystick — mechanical control device
  • French: manche à balai — mechanical control device
  • French: manette — mechanical control device
  • Georgian: ჯოისტიკი (ǯoisṭiḳi) — mechanical control device
  • Georgian: მართვის სახელური (martvis saxeluri) — mechanical control device
  • German: Steuerknüppel — mechanical control device
  • German: Joystick — mechanical control device
  • Greek: πηδάλιο (pidálio) — mechanical control device
  • Hungarian: botkormány — mechanical control device
  • Icelandic: stýripinni — mechanical control device
  • Icelandic: stýristautur — mechanical control device
  • Icelandic: leikvölur — mechanical control device
  • Indonesian: tuas kendali — mechanical control device
  • Italian: barra di comando — mechanical control device
  • Italian: leva di comando — mechanical control device
  • Italian: cloche — mechanical control device
  • Italian: ludomanetta — mechanical control device
  • Italian: joystick — mechanical control device
  • Japanese: ジョイスティック (joisutikku) — mechanical control device
  • Korean: 조이스틱 (joiseutik) — mechanical control device
  • Lao: ຄັນບັງຄັບ — mechanical control device
  • Malay: kayu ria — mechanical control device
  • Malay: kayu bedik — mechanical control device
  • Malay: کايو ريا (kayu ria) — mechanical control device
  • Māori: kakautohu — mechanical control device
  • Marathi: जॉयस्टिक (jŏyasṭik) — mechanical control device
  • Norwegian Bokmål: joystick — mechanical control device
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: joystick — mechanical control device
  • Polish: dżojstik — mechanical control device
  • Polish: joystick — mechanical control device
  • Portuguese: manche — mechanical control device
  • Russian: джо́йстик (džójstik) — mechanical control device
  • Serbo-Croatian: džojstik — mechanical control device
  • Spanish: palanca de mando — mechanical control device
  • Spanish: joystick — mechanical control device
  • Spanish: columna de control — mechanical control device
  • Swedish: joystick — mechanical control device
  • Swedish: styrspak — mechanical control device
  • Thai: จอยสติ๊ก — mechanical control device
  • Ukrainian: джо́йстик (džójstyk) — mechanical control device
  • Yiddish: קאָנטראָל־שטעקל (kontrol-shtekl) — mechanical control device