jerky

¹ American  

[jur-kee] / ˈdʒɜr ki /

adjective

jerkier, jerkiest

1. characterized by jerks or sudden starts; spasmodic.

2. Slang. silly; foolish; stupid; ridiculous.

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jerky ² American  

[jur-kee] / ˈdʒɜr ki /

noun

1. meat, especially beef, that has been cut in strips and preserved by drying in the sun; jerked meat.

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jerky ¹ British  

/ ˈdʒɜːkɪ /

adjective

1. characterized by jerks; spasmodic

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jerky ² British  

/ ˈdʒɜːkɪ /

noun

1. another word for jerk 2

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Usage

What does jerky mean? Jerky describes something that involves a lot of jerks, meaning sudden movements. Jerky also means meat that has been cut into strips and then dried or smoked. As an adjective, jerky describes something as having irregular, jarring movement, as in It was a long, jerky ride on the carriage thanks to the uncooperative horses. In this sense, the adverb jerkily means in a jerky movement, as in The wagon bounced jerkily over the rocky path. The noun form of this sense is jerkiness, as in The jerkiness of the airplane flight quickly made me feel sick. Jerky is also meat that has been sliced into strips that are then smoked or dried. The term jerked meat is also used to refer to this food. In this sense, jerky is used as both a singular and plural, as in I ate a piece of jerky from the bag of jerky Tom brought on the hike. Example: The jerky movements of the bull threw the cowboy to the ground.

Other Word Forms

• jerkily
  adverb
• jerkiness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of jerky¹

First recorded in 1855–60; jerk ¹ + -y ¹

Origin of jerky²

1840–50, alteration of charqui

Explanation

Something that's jerky has a bumpy, lurching kind of rhythm, like a jerky off-road ride in a jeep. Another kind of jerky is dried meat. You could chew your beef jerky to calm yourself on that jerky ride. A jerky carnival ride starts and stops abruptly, and a jerky old movie might be choppy and shaky. When jerky is a noun, it's a dense, chewy type of dried meat. This second kind of jerky is an American word, adapted from the Spanish to originally be charqui, from an Incan root word, ch'arki, literally "dried flesh."

Example Sentences

“Intruders have set fires, burning holes in the floors and scorching wood wainscoting and pews. Empty beef jerky bags, discarded underwear and clumps of plaster litter the worn burgundy carpeting.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

Dried mango that tears like jerky between your teeth.

From Salon • Mar. 9, 2026

He got off to a jerky start, with an eagle at the first followed by a double bogey at the fourth.

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

If, like my wife, you find that frustrating and unsatisfactory, the brand-name medical center offers you a pile of word jerky to chew on while you get your checkbook out.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 21, 2025

They stank of smoke and sweat and moose jerky.

From "I Survived the Great Alaska Earthquake, 1964" by Lauren Tarshis

Related Words

• bouncy
• bumpy