jujitsu

noun

ju·​jit·​su
variants or less commonly jujutsu or jiujitsu
: an art of weaponless fighting employing holds, throws, and paralyzing blows to subdue or disable an opponent

Examples of jujitsu in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Some of the debate has played out within popular online forums for Brazilian jujitsu. John Wiegand, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2023 In the Robbins Era, the leading motivators tend to be former Division 1 decathletes or jujitsu black belts who post on Instagram about hitting the gym at 4:32 a.m. Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2023 The tech mogul took up Brazilian jujitsu during the pandemic and participated in the Murph Challenge on Memorial Day of this year, named after a Navy SEAL who was killed in action in Afghanistan. Erin Prater, Fortune Well, 3 Nov. 2023 Zuckerberg’s weekly workouts During the pandemic, the tech tycoon began training in Brazilian jujitsu, a type of martial art. Alexa Mikhail, Fortune Well, 17 Aug. 2023 One martial art with comparatively strong governance is judo, which focuses more on throws and takedowns but like Brazilian jujitsu traces its lineage back to Japanese forms of jujitsu. John Wiegand, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2023 After Musk, Twitter’s owner, commented about Zuckerberg’s social media app Threads, one of Musk’s social media followers jokingly warned him that Zuckerberg knows jujitsu. Maham Javaid, Washington Post, 13 Aug. 2023 During the pandemic, the tech mogul took up the martial art of Brazilian jujitsu, winning gold and silver medals at a tournament in May. Paige Hagy, Fortune, 3 Aug. 2023 For instance, Meta cofounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg took up the martial art of Brazilian jujitsu during the pandemic, winning gold and silver medals at a tournament in May. Paige Hagy, Fortune Well, 1 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jujitsu.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Japanese jūjutsu, from weakness, gentleness + jutsu art, skill

First Known Use

1875, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of jujitsu was in 1875

Dictionary Entries Near jujitsu

Cite this Entry

“Jujitsu.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jujitsu. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

jujitsu

noun
ju·​jit·​su
variants or jujutsu or jiujitsu or jiujutsu
jü-ˈjit-sü
: the Japanese art of unarmed fighting using holds, throws, and paralyzing blows

More from Merriam-Webster on jujitsu

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!