poke
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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pokes,
present (3rd person singular)
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poked,
past participle, past
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poking
present participle
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to prod or push, especially with something narrow or pointed, such as a finger, elbow, stick, etc..
He was asleep until she poked him in the ribs.
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to make (a hole, one's way, etc.) by or as by prodding or pushing.
The branch poked a hole in my sweater.
It was a difficult trek, as he had to poke his way slowly through the underbrush.
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to thrust or push.
She poked her head out of the window.
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to force, drive, or stir by or as by pushing or thrusting.
He poked the fire up.
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to thrust obtrusively.
The prosecutor kept poking his finger at the defendant.
verb (used without object)
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pokes,
present (3rd person singular)
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poked,
past participle, past
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poking
present participle
-
to make a pushing or thrusting movement with the finger, a stick, etc..
Angle the needle and poke hard, and it should get through the fabric.
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to extend or project (often followed byout ).
His handkerchief is poking out of his back pocket.
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to thrust oneself obtrusively.
It's dangerous to poke into something that's none of your business.
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to search curiously; pry (often followed by around orabout ).
When working airport security, you often have to poke around in other people's stuff.
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to go or proceed in a slow or aimless way (often followed byalong ).
We spent a while poking along at 5 mph while the traffic jam cleared.
noun
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a thrust or push.
She gave the cake a poke with a toothpick to see if it was done.
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Informal. a slow or dawdling person; slowpoke.
idioms
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poke one's nose into, to meddle in; pry into.
We felt as if half the people in town were poking their noses into our lives.
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poke fun at, to ridicule or mock, especially covertly or slyly.
In her novel, she pokes fun at her ex-husband.
noun
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Chiefly Midland U.S. and Scot.. a bag or sack, especially a small one.
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a wallet or purse.
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Archaic. a pocket.
noun
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a projecting brim at the front of a bonnet, framing the face.
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Also called poke bonnet. a bonnet or hat with such a brim.
noun
noun
verb
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(tr) to jab or prod, as with the elbow, the finger, a stick, etc
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(tr) to make (a hole, opening, etc) by or as by poking
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to thrust (at)
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informal (tr) to hit with the fist; punch
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to protrude or cause to protrude
don't poke your arm out of the window
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(tr) to stir (a fire, pot, etc) by poking
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(intr) to meddle or intrude
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(intr; often foll by about or around) to search or pry
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to loiter, potter, dawdle, etc
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slang (tr) (of a man) to have sexual intercourse with
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to mock or ridicule
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See nose
noun
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a jab or prod
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short for slowpoke
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informal a blow with one's fist; punch
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slang sexual intercourse
noun
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dialect a pocket or bag
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See pig
noun
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Also called: poke bonnet. a woman's bonnet with a brim that projects at the front, popular in the 18th and 19th centuries
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the brim itself
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pokesimple
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pokessimple
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have pokedperfect
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has pokedperfect
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am pokingprogressive
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are pokingprogressive
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is pokingprogressive
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have been pokingperfect progressive
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has been pokingperfect progressive
Past
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pokedsimple
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had pokedperfect
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was pokingprogressive
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were pokingprogressive
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had been pokingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of poke1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle Dutch, Middle Low German poken “to thrust, stick with a knife”; see also poach 2
Origin of poke2
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Middle Dutch, whence also Old North French poque, French poche “bag, pocket”; cf. poach 1, pocket, pouch
Origin of poke3
First recorded in 1760–70; apparently special use of poke 1
Origin of poke4
First recorded in 1590–1600; perhaps shortening of obsolete pocan “pokeweed,” perhaps variant of puccoon (pokeberries and puccoon roots were both sources of red dye)
Origin of poke5
First recorded in 1975–80; from Hawaian: literally, “to slice crosswise, section, a section”
Explanation
A poke is a jab or a sharp push, usually with something thin or pointed, like a finger, a stick, or even an elbow. The main idea behind a poke is a prodding action that creates a depression or hole, as when you poke someone in the ribs with your finger. It can also mean a quick, sharp movement, like when a turtle pokes its head out of its shell. Still, the word often has a less-than-pleasant feeling to it, like something not really dangerous but still annoying. We often say a tolerable experience is "better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick." It can also take on a more figurative meaning — when you "poke your nose into someone else's business," it means that you are intruding in another's private matters.
Vocabulary lists containing poke
Because of Winn-Dixie
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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"On the Menu" and "Find the Adaptations"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Those two points alone poke a major hole in the popular “Americans are living paycheck to paycheck” narrative.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 1, 2026
In her meetings, “you can poke and you can prod, and you can feel like you can call out where you think the gaps are going to be, and then you make that decision.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
Will your question invite helpful suggestions, or, unbeknownst to you, poke a bear who is exhausted by people making this same mistake over and over?
From Slate ● Oct. 11, 2026
"Even though we believed these theories to be true, it's important to have an experimental realization, something you can poke and prod," Alicea says.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
My almost-black hair is flat against my head, and the tips of my ears poke through all the heavy straightness.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
The main ad’s language about “betting” pokes at larger prediction markets’ position that their users aren’t gambling, but trading in event contracts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
“And, in fact, it will take more visits and more pokes in the arm, literally, for children to do this.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
"She just gets very curious about my guitars and just kind of pokes around, "Antonic added.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
That fight was deemed a no contest because of repeated eye pokes from Gane which left Aspinall unable to continue, and he called for a rematch in October.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
I play cards with Armelio in the dining room until Bobby pokes his head in: “Craig? It says on your door Dr. Mahmoud is your doctor? He’s making his rounds.”
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
Kessler, standing nearby during Williams’ postgame news conference, poked his head out from behind a black curtain and gave his teammate a thumbs-up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
A huge cheer erupted as a senior teacher unlocked the hulking front door and poked her head out into the street.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Eight years later, “Showgirls” poked fun at the entertainment industry and America’s cultural prudishness.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
On stage, she gracefully offset the blond bombshell image she both cultivated and poked fun at.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
He poked his head into one of the moving boxes.
From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth
"It saves probers hours and hours of standing shoulder to shoulder and poking in the snow, and also exposing themselves to secondary avalanche hazards," Ward said.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
It’s the reason so many of us walk to our cars with our keys poking through our fingers, why we tense up when someone walks too closely behind us on a dark street.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026
“For some reason that no one can figure out, I really, really like you,” Johnson’s Trump told Mamdani, poking fun at the unlikely rapport between the president and the democratic socialist mayor.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
He also discovers the unlikeliest of love stories, making the appealingly discursive, touchingly oddball “History” feel like a bent, colorful flower poking out of the pavement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Sassafras Springs didn’t have a newspaper, and we didn’t need one either with Rae Ellen poking her nose into everybody’s business.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
