juke
1 Americanverb (used with object)
noun
noun
Etymology
Origin of juke1
Spelling variant of jouk
Origin of juke2
By shortening
Explanation
Use the word juke when you talk about a little roadside bar where you can dance to jukebox music or a live band. Another word for a juke is a "roadhouse." If you visit a rowdy rural bar with dancing and beer, you can call it a juke. Many country and blues bands got their start playing at jukes in the south, although some jukes offer jukeboxes as their only music. You can also call it a "juke joint." The word juke comes from the Southern United States Creole known as Gullah — in which juke or joog means "wicked" or "disorderly."
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:
“Hadestown” is a love story first and foremost, set in a joyous juke joint, the band ringing the stage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Walking through the exhibition, specially-programmed headsets react to the environment - creating a personalised DJ Mix as the music evolves from juke joints and jazz clubs to reggae nights, carnival and pirate radio.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2026
Jack O’Connell, Lola Kirke and Peter Dreimanis — the actors who terrorized the juke joint as bloodthirsty vampires in the movie — also snaked their way onto the stage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2026
The film unfolds during the opening of a Mississippi juke joint in 1932.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 2026
There go the grumbles around the juke joint.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
In it, chugging on instinct and not playbook, Moss juked one defender and spun through another one before landing in the end zone on his head.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2024
O.J. did as O.J. was famous for doing, and juked.
From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2024
He danced and juked, dodged and eluded tacklers, using his instincts to find open space that allowed him to use his speed to outrace the defense into the end zone.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 11, 2024
In his best play of the season, Hemby evaded one defender, then juked another as he took the ball 61 yards to the 2.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 30, 2023
He juked and jived and spun and danced and darted, and he left them squeezing handfuls of air.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
He scrambled up the middle for eight yards on the Chargers’ first possession, juking Tennessee linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. so aggressively that the former Chargers linebacker toppled to the turf.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2024
The result is something like shuffling, juking bas-reliefs or ghosts.
From New York Times ● Feb. 3, 2024
So far this season, those results have been twofold: One, Mateer has made the most of his chances, juking defenders and bursting upfield for nice gains.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 11, 2023
Irving skittered across the lane juking defenders on his way to 24 points, six rebounds and five assists.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 12, 2022
We joked a little more, I thought like regular American men, faking, dipping, juking.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
