Euphoric means feeling intensely happy, almost overwhelmingly joyful. When you're euphoric, you're experiencing a powerful wave of pure happiness that makes you want to jump, shout, or laugh out loud.

You might feel euphoric when you score the winning goal in a championship game, when you finally master a difficult piano piece you've practiced for months, or when you discover your best friend is moving back to town after being away for years. Athletes often describe feeling euphoric after winning important competitions. Scientists report feeling euphoric when they make breakthrough discoveries.

The feeling is usually temporary and intense, like a burst of celebration inside your mind and body. While ordinary happiness can last for hours or days, euphoria tends to be a peak moment: shorter but more powerful. Some people describe it as feeling like they're floating or like their chest might burst with excitement.

Being euphoric is wonderful, but because it's such a heightened state, you can't stay that way forever, just as you can't stay at the peak of a mountain indefinitely.