mojo

Probably of Creole origin, cognate with Gullah moco (“witchcraft”), Fula moco'o (“medicine man”). The origin of the drug sense is uncertain, possibly related to Spanish mojar (“to toast (celebrate with a drink)”).^[1]

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmoʊd͡ʒoʊ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈməʊd͡ʒəʊ/

• Audio (General Australian):

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• Audio (General American):

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• Rhymes: -əʊdʒəʊ

mojo (countable and uncountable, plural mojos or mojoes)

1. (countable) A magic spell or hex.
2. (countable) An object (such as a charm or amulet) used to cast magic spells, especially in hoodoo.
   • 1991 July/August, Shelby Foote, “When Robert Johnson Sings”, in American Heritage‎^[1], volume 42, number 4:

     A doney, for instance, is a woman of worse than doubtful morals, and a nation sack is a cloth pouch worn on a string around the neck for holding mojos and small change.

3. (uncountable) Spellcraft, hoodoo.
4. (informal) Supernatural skill; exceptional luck, success, or power.
   • 2022 February 12, Danny Westneat, “The reason voters see past the terrible headlines with Seattle schools”, in The Seattle Times‎^[2]:

     I haven’t seen much mojo in the state Legislature for that or any other major intervention, though. Hey, lawmakers, you should check out the test scores for your own school districts. It might be yours are needing some help, too, maybe even more so than Seattle.

5. (slang) Personal magnetism; charm; that which makes one successful and liked, viewed as an inherent power that can be present or absent.
   • 2025 May 8, Jacob Greber, “How Peter Dutton’s Wile E Coyote campaign flew off the cliff”, in ABC News‎^[3]:

     Still reeling from the 2023 Voice loss, Albanese struggled until the start of this year to regain his mojo. Polls relentlessly showed the prime minister was on the nose with voters weary over the cost of living.

6. (slang) Sex appeal; sex drive.

   Look at the way the chicks are checking out Daniel on the dancefloor. He's still got plenty of mojo.

   After the pandemic closed down the discos, I stopped socializing and have lost my mojo.

7. (slang) An illegal drug, especially morphine or other narcotics.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:recreational drug

8. (slang, usually with "wire") A telecopier; a fax machine.

• mojo hand
• mojoless

mojo (third-person singular simple present mojos, present participle mojoing, simple past and past participle mojoed)

1. (transitive, informal) To cast a magic spell on or jinx (someone).
2. (transitive, informal) To annoy or bother (someone).

Borrowed from Spanish mojo.

mojo (countable and uncountable, plural mojos)

1. Any of various sauces originating in the Canary Islands and made with olive oil, peppers, garlic, paprika, and other spices.
   • 2021 November 8, Tejal Rao, “Sidesgiving”, in The New York Times‎^[4]:

     I know I want one more satisfying starch, and I’m debating between Yewande Komolafe’s plantains with beans and Von Diaz’s yuca coated in a warm, garlicky mojo.

mojo (plural mojos)

1. Alternative form of moio (“Portuguese dry measure”).

• “mojo n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present

• JOMO, Jomo, jomo

mojo

1. Rōmaji transcription of もじょ

mojo

1. superseded spelling of mójo

• IPA^(key): /ˈmoxo/ [ˈmo.xo]
• Rhymes: -oxo
• Syllabification: mo‧jo

Deverbal from mojar.

mojo m (plural mojos)

1. a type of spicy red sauce from the Canary Islands made from chilli, oil, vinegar, garlic, and cumin

• moje

mojo

1. first-person singular present indicative of mojar

• “mojo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

• mójo

mojo (feminine singular moja, masculine plural moji, feminine plural moje)

1. wet
2. soaked

• mojar