poke

[ pohk ]

/ poʊk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR poke ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), poked, pok·ing.

to prod or push, especially with something narrow or pointed, as a finger, elbow, stick, etc.: to poke someone in the ribs.

to make (a hole, one's way, etc.) by or as by prodding or pushing.

to thrust or push: She poked her head out of the window.

to force, drive, or stir by or as by pushing or thrusting: He poked the fire up.

to thrust obtrusively: The prosecutor kept poking his finger at the defendant.

verb (used without object), poked, pok·ing.

to make a pushing or thrusting movement with the finger, a stick, etc.

to extend or project (often followed by out): His handkerchief is poking out of his back pocket.

to thrust oneself obtrusively: to poke into something that is not one's affair.

to search curiously; pry (often followed by around or about).

to go or proceed in a slow or aimless way (often followed by along).

noun

a thrust or push.

Informal. a slow or dawdling person; slowpoke.

Nearby words

Idioms

poke fun at, to ridicule or mock, especially covertly or slyly: In her novel, she pokes fun at her ex-husband.

poke one's nose into, Informal. to meddle in; pry into: We felt as if half the people in town were poking their noses into our lives.

Origin of poke

1300–50; Middle English < Middle Dutch, Middle Low German poken to thrust. See poach¹

Related formspok·a·ble, adjective

Definition for poke (2 of 4)

poke

[ pohk ]

/ poʊk /

noun

Chiefly Midland U.S. and Scot.. a bag or sack, especially a small one.

a wallet or purse.

Archaic. a pocket.

Origin of poke

1250–1300; Middle English < Middle Dutch, whence also Old North French poque, French poche bag, pocket; cf. poach², pocket, pouch

Definition for poke (3 of 4)

poke

[ pohk ]

/ poʊk /

noun

a projecting brim at the front of a bonnet, framing the face.

Also called poke bonnet. a bonnet or hat with such a brim.

Origin of poke

First recorded in 1760–70; apparently special use of poke¹

Definition for poke (4 of 4)

poke

⁴

[ pohk ]

/ poʊk /

noun

pokeweed.

Origin of poke

⁴

1590–1600; perhaps shortening of obsolete pocan pokeweed, perhaps variant of puccoon (pokeberries and puccoon roots were both sources of red dye)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for poke

People online have been attempting to poke holes in the science of Interstellar.
Christopher Nolan Uncut: On ‘Interstellar,’ Ben Affleck’s Batman, and the Future of Mankind|Marlow Stern|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But when the pageant itself starts to poke fun at the contestants, organizers should expect that they will lose all credibility.
The Real Housewives of Miss America|Kate Shindle|September 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Poke center of Italian sausages with chopstick to make well, fill with chocolate syrup and twist the open end of the sausage.
Epic Meal Empire’s Meat Monstrosities: From the Bacon Spider to the Cinnabattleship|Harley Morenstein|July 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The building is festooned with cartoon-like images of fish, including dorsal fins that poke out of the roof.
Become a Fried Seafood Believer at South Beach Market|Jane & Michael Stern|April 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And that also allowed me to poke fun at the idea that our mind is somehow ‘better’ or more ‘us’ than our body.
'Hysterical Literature': Women Who Read Until Orgasm|Rich Goldstein|March 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"Mr. Mudge requires no hat where he is now," continued the doctor, stooping to poke the fire.
Three More John Silence Stories|Algernon Blackwood
I'd poke into all sorts of corners, that perhaps Aunt Clotilda has never thought of.'
The Old Pincushion|Mrs. Molesworth
For some moments he stood intently watching me, and then happily began to poke the fire.
Eighteen Months' Imprisonment|Donald Shaw
Her big grey eyes were sad with sympathy for sufferers and sinners, and her poke bonnet was full of bunchy, red-gold hair.
Children of the Bush|Henry Lawson
Under her poke bonnet I saw her meekly parted hair and her faded cheeks, flushed now with a hectic colour.
The Romance of a Plain Man|Ellen Glasgow

British Dictionary definitions for poke (1 of 4)

poke

/ (pəʊk) /

verb

(tr) to jab or prod, as with the elbow, the finger, a stick, etc

(tr) to make (a hole, opening, etc) by or as by poking

(when intr, often foll by at) to thrust (at)

(tr) informal to hit with the fist; punch

(usually foll by in, out, out of, through, etc) to protrude or cause to protrudedon't poke your arm out of the window

(tr) to stir (a fire, pot, etc) by poking

(intr) to meddle or intrude

(intr; often foll by about or around) to search or pry

(intr often foll by along) to loiter, potter, dawdle, etc

(tr) slang (of a man) to have sexual intercourse with

poke fun at to mock or ridicule

poke one's nose into See nose (def. 17)

noun

a jab or prod

short for slowpoke

informal a blow with one's fist; punch

slang sexual intercourse

Word Origin for poke

C14: from Low German and Middle Dutch poken to thrust, prod, strike

British Dictionary definitions for poke (2 of 4)

poke

/ (pəʊk) /

noun

dialect a pocket or bag

a pig in a poke See pig (def. 9)

Word Origin for poke

C13: from Old Northern French poque, of Germanic origin; related to Old English pocca bag, Old Norse poki pouch, Middle Dutch poke bag; compare poach ²

British Dictionary definitions for poke (3 of 4)

poke

/ (pəʊk) /

noun

Also called: poke bonnet a woman's bonnet with a brim that projects at the front, popular in the 18th and 19th centuries

the brim itself

Word Origin for poke

C18: from poke 1 (in the sense: to thrust out, project)

British Dictionary definitions for poke (4 of 4)

poke

⁴

/ (pəʊk) /

noun

short for pokeweed

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 poke (1 of 4)

poke

"to push, prod, thrust," especially with something pointed, c.1300, puken "to poke, nudge," of uncertain origin, perhaps from or related to Middle Dutch poken "to poke" (Dutch beuken), or Middle Low German poken "to stick with a knife" (cf. German pochen "to knock, rap"), both from Proto-Germanic root *puk-, perhaps imitative. Related: Poked; poking. To poke fun "tease" first attested 1840; to poke around "search" is from 1809. To poke along "advance lazily; walk at a leisurely pace" is from 1833.

Word Origin and History for poke (1 of 4)

poke

n.1

"small sack," early 13c., probably from Old North French poque (12c., Old French poche) "purse, poke, purse-net," probably from a Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *puk- (cf. Old English pohha, pocca "bag, pocket," Middle Dutch poke, Old Norse poki "bag, pouch, pocket," dialectal German Pfoch), from PIE root *beu-, an imitative root associated with words for "to swell" (see bull (n.2)).

Word Origin and History for poke (2 of 4)

poke

n.2

"pokeweed; a weed used in medicine and dyeing," colonial American, from native words, possibly a confusion of similar-sounding Native American plant names; from 1630s in English as "tobacco plant," short for uppowoc (1580s), from Algonquian (Virginia) *uppowoc. Later (1708) the word is used in the sense "pokeweed," as a shortened form of puccoon, from Algonquian (Virginia) *puccoon, name of a plant used for dyeing." Native roots for "smoke" and "stain" have been proposed as the origin or origins.

Word Origin and History for poke (3 of 4)

poke

n.3

"an act of poking," 1796, originally pugilistic slang, from poke (v.). Also (1809) the name of a device, like a yoke with a pole, attached to domestic animals such as pigs and sheep to keep them from escaping enclosures. Hence slowpoke, and cf. pokey. Slang sense "act of sexual intercourse" is attested from 1902.

Idioms and Phrases with poke

poke

In addition to the idioms beginning with poke

poke around
poke fun at
poke one's nose into

also see:

make fun of (poke fun at)
pig in a poke
take a poke at

poke

verb (used with object), poked, pok·ing.

verb (used without object), poked, pok·ing.

noun

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of poke

Definition for poke (2 of 4)

poke

noun

Origin of poke

Definition for poke (3 of 4)

poke

noun

Origin of poke

Definition for poke (4 of 4)

poke

noun

Origin of poke

Examples from the Web for poke

British Dictionary definitions for poke (1 of 4)

poke

verb

noun

Word Origin for poke

British Dictionary definitions for poke (2 of 4)

poke

noun

Word Origin for poke

British Dictionary definitions for poke (3 of 4)

poke

noun

Word Origin for poke

British Dictionary definitions for poke (4 of 4)

poke

noun

Word Origin and History for poke (1 of 4)

poke

Word Origin and History for poke (1 of 4)

poke

Word Origin and History for poke (2 of 4)

poke

Word Origin and History for poke (3 of 4)

poke

Idioms and Phrases with poke

poke