jerk1
[jurk]
- a quick, sharp pull, thrust, twist, throw, or the like; a sudden movement: The train started with a jerk.
- a spasmodic, usually involuntary, muscular movement, as the reflex action of pulling the hand away from a flame.
- any sudden, quick movement of the body, as in dodging something.
- Slang. a contemptibly naive, fatuous, foolish, or inconsequential person.
- (in weightlifting) the raising of a weight from shoulder height to above the head by straightening the arms.
- jerks, British Informal. physical jerks.
- a dance, deriving from the twist, in which the dancers alternately thrust out their pelvises and their shoulders.
- the jerks, paroxysms or violent spasmodic muscular movements, as resulting from excitement evoked by some religious services.
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- to pull, twist, move, thrust, or throw with a quick, suddenly arrested motion: She jerked the child by the hand.
- to utter in a broken, spasmodic way.
- Informal. to prepare, dispense, and serve (sodas, ice cream, etc.) at a soda fountain.
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- to give a jerk or jerks.
- to move with a quick, sharp motion; move spasmodically.
- to talk in a broken, spasmodic way.
- Informal. to work as a soda jerk.
- to dance the jerk.
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- jerk off, Slang: Vulgar. to masturbate.
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Origin of jerk1
1540–50; 1935–40 for def 4; perhaps dialectal variant of yerk to draw stitches tight (shoemaker's term), thus making the shoe ready to wear, Old English gearcian to prepare, make ready
jerk2
[jurk]
- to preserve (meat, especially beef) by cutting in strips and curing by drying in the sun.
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- being or containing a spicy seasoning mixture flavored with allspice, used especially in Jamaican cooking: jerk sauce.
- prepared with jerk flavorings, especially by barbecuing or grilling: jerk chicken.
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Origin of jerk2
First recorded in 1700–10; back formation from jerky2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for jerked
Contemporary Examples
The guard shoved him against the wall, jerked his hands behind him and handcuffed him.
If she were in a panic, or terrified, or jerked awake during a fire, she would not remember how to produce those American sounds.
“I got jerked both ways in the car, hit my head on the divider, and then hit my legs on the side of the car,” he says.
He jerked the window up with such force that it jammed after having opened only five inches.
While Roth is clearly annoyed at being "jerked around," others say it might make sense for Lautner to book projects fast.
Historical Examples
At dinner she shook and jerked and spilt things worse than ever.
Life and Death of Harriett FreanMay Sinclair
He jerked sharply up on the reins, and she broke into a staggering trot.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
The tears ceased, her eyes flashed, she jerked her body upright, listening.
The Leopard WomanStewart Edward White
He opened his eyes at my acquaintance with his name, but jerked his head at me comprehendingly.
The Fortune HunterLouis Joseph Vance
He jerked his head away and swung round in his chair to argue the matter.
The Fortune HunterLouis Joseph Vance
jerk1
- to move or cause to move with an irregular or spasmodic motion
- to throw, twist, pull, or push (something) abruptly or spasmodically
- (tr often foll by out) to utter (words, sounds, etc) in a spasmodic, abrupt, or breathless manner
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- an abrupt or spasmodic movement
- an irregular jolting motionthe car moved with a jerk
- Also called: physical jerks (plural) British informal physical exercises
- (plural) US a slang word for chorea
- slang, mainly US and Canadian a person regarded with contempt, esp a stupid or ignorant person
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Word Origin
C16: probably variant of yerk to pull stitches tight in making a shoe; compare Old English gearcian to make ready
jerk2
- to preserve (venison, beef, etc) by cutting into thin strips and curing by drying in the sun
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- Also called: jerky jerked meat, esp beef
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Word Origin
C18: back formation from jerky, from charqui
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for jerked
jerk
v.1
"to pull," 1540s, "to lash, strike as with a whip," of uncertain origin, perhaps echoic. Related: Jerked; jerking.
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jerk
n.2
"tedious and ineffectual person," 1935 (the lyric in "Big Rock Candy Mountain" apparently is "Where they hung the Turk [not jerk] that invented work"), American English carnival slang, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from jerkwater town (1878), where a steam locomotive crew had to take on boiler water from a trough or a creek because there was no water tank [Barnhart, OED]. This led 1890s to an adjectival use of jerk as "inferior, insignificant." Alternatively, or influenced by, verbal phrase jerk off "masturbate" [Rawson].
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jerk
n.1
1550s, "stroke of a whip," from jerk (v.1). Sense of "sudden sharp pull or twist" first recorded 1570s. Meaning "involuntary spasmodic movement of limbs or features" first recorded 1805. As the name of a popular dance, it is attested from 1966. Sense in soda jerk attested from 1883, from the pulling motion required to work the taps.
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jerk
v.2
as a method of preserving meat, 1707, American English, from American Spanish carquear, from charqui (see jerky). Related: Jerked.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
jerk
(jûrk)- To make spasmodic motions.
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- A sudden reflexive or spasmodic muscular movement.deep reflex
- jerks Involuntary convulsive twitching often resulting from excitement. Often used with the.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.