poke

[ pohk ]

/ poʊk /

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.

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bailiwick

a creature, variously described as a serpent, lizard, or dragon, said to kill by its breath or look.

place or source of origin.

a person's area of skill, knowledge, authority, or work.

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Idioms for poke

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

OTHER WORDS FROM poke

pok·a·ble, adjective

Words nearby poke

poitou, poitou-charentes, poitrine, poitín, pokal, poke, poke around, poke check, poke fun at, poke one's nose into, pokeberry

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for poke one's nose into (1 of 4)

poke¹

/ (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 one's nose into (2 of 4)

poke²

/ (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 one's nose into (3 of 4)

poke³

/ (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 one's nose into (4 of 4)

poke⁴

/ (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

Idioms and Phrases with poke one's nose into (1 of 2)

poke one's nose into

Pry into or meddle in another's affairs, as in I told her to stop poking her nose into our business. This usage replaced the earlier thrust one's nose into in the mid-1800s.

Idioms and Phrases with poke one's nose into (2 of 2)

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

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poke

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

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

noun

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Idioms for poke

Origin of poke

OTHER WORDS FROM poke

Words nearby poke

British Dictionary definitions for poke one's nose into (1 of 4)

verb

noun

Word Origin for poke

British Dictionary definitions for poke one's nose into (2 of 4)

noun

Word Origin for poke

British Dictionary definitions for poke one's nose into (3 of 4)

noun

Word Origin for poke

British Dictionary definitions for poke one's nose into (4 of 4)

noun

Idioms and Phrases with poke one's nose into (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with poke one's nose into (2 of 2)