jolt

[ johlt ]

verb (used with object)

1. to jar, shake, or cause to move by or as if by a sudden rough thrust; shake up roughly:

   The bus jolted its passengers as it went down the rocky road.

2. to knock sharply so as to dislodge:

   He jolted the nail free with a stone.

3. to stun with a blow, especially in boxing.
4. to shock emotionally or psychologically:

   His sudden death jolted us all.

5. to bring to a desired state sharply or abruptly:

   to jolt a person into awareness.

6. to make active or alert, as by using an abrupt, sharp, or rough manner:

   to jolt someone's memory.

7. to interfere with or intrude upon, especially in a rough or crude manner; interrupt disturbingly.

verb (used without object)

1. to move with a sharp jerk or a series of sharp jerks:

   The car jolted to a halt.

noun

1. a jolting shock, movement, or blow:

   The automobile gave a sudden jolt.

2. an emotional or psychological shock:

   The news of his arrest gave me quite a jolt.

3. something that causes such a shock:

   The news was a jolt to me.

4. a sudden, unexpected rejection or defeat:

   Their policy got a rude jolt from the widespread opposition.

5. Slang. a prison sentence.
6. Slang. an injection of a narcotic.
7. a bracing dose of something:

   a jolt of whiskey; a jolt of fresh air.

jolt

/ dʒəʊlt /

verb

1. to bump against with a jarring blow; jostle
2. to move in a jolting manner
3. to surprise or shock

noun

1. a sudden jar or blow
2. an emotional shock

Derived Forms

• ˈjoltingly, adverb
• ˈjolter, noun
• ˈjolty, adjective

Other Words From

• jolter noun
• jolting·ly adverb
• joltless adjective
• un·jolted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of jolt¹

1590–1600; blend of jot to jolt and joll to bump, both now dial.

Word History and Origins

Origin of jolt¹

C16: probably blend of dialect jot to jerk and dialect joll to bump

Example Sentences

Despite a year of tumult and a jolt to its ad revenues, Google is as important as ever.

From Search Engine Land

Investors had seen the deal as a huge win for Nikola, by giving it a massive jolt of credibility.

From Fortune

CASP got the jolt it was looking for when DeepMind entered the competition in 2018 with its first version of AlphaFold.

From MIT Technology Review

The jolt is due in part, no doubt, to traders fleeing BitMEX, which has long specialized in such derivatives markets.

From Fortune

Democrats, meanwhile, point to evidence of a jolt of energy on their side.

From Washington Post

The whole point of writing for free online, as Justin Hall had shown, was that it produced a jolt of joy.

From The Daily Beast

But the real, unexpected jolt that kicked off the new season was the violent, sudden arrest of Cary.

From The Daily Beast

The decrepit BMD came to a stop with a gear-clanking jolt by the water, and within seconds the soldiers broke out the vodka.

From The Daily Beast

It was the jolt needed to get through the last stretch of the summer.

From The Daily Beast

So, yeah, it was a very big hiccup—one sufficiently large to jolt the heart from its regular beat.

From The Daily Beast

The first jolt had like to have shaken me out of my hammock, but afterwards the motion was easy enough.

From Project Gutenberg

This affords the maximum of riding comfort by the elimination of all jar and jolt occasioned by an uneven roadway.

From Project Gutenberg

So the next day after the funeral, along about noon-time, the girls' joy got the first jolt.

From Project Gutenberg

Dissertations on literature, science, and philosophy came as an unexpected jolt.

From Project Gutenberg

A jolt, and you are descending, grip in hand, upon the platform.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bump
• punch
• reversal
• setback
• shock