Standard Lemma guide

juju

noun · 7 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.

  • /ˈd͡ʒuːd͡ʒu/
  • jo͞oʹjo͞o
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: JH UW1 JH UW0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A fetish or charm believed by West Africans to have magical or supernatural powers.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The magical or supernatural power of such a charm.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The (usually negative) karmic consequences of an action or behavior.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, informal, uncountable

Examples

  • That's some bad juju.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A marijuana cigarette; a joint.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Synonym of jùjú (“music genre”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: jùjú

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

a charm superstitiously believed to embody magical powers

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: voodoo, hoodoo, fetish, fetich

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: charm, good luck charm

7

noun

Meaning 7

the power associated with a juju

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: magic, thaumaturgy

History

Etymology

From a West African language, probably originally from French joujou.

Reduplication of -ju- in marijuana.