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

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

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

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

Examples from the Web for poking

But, as the people of Irving are now discovering, all of this poking and prodding is not without potential consequences.
26 Earthquakes Later, Fracking’s Smoking Gun Is in Texas|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Poking out of the shiny gold pages is a “distinctive silk marker”—also gold—which “complements the color of the leather.”
Rand Paul’s Many Leather-Bound Books|Olivia Nuzzi|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Hold on,” he said, staring at his smartphone and poking at its screen.
Inside Uber’s Political War Machine|Olivia Nuzzi|June 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Poking through this crunchy-sweet vegetable mound is edible ecstasy.
Become a Fried Seafood Believer at South Beach Market|Jane & Michael Stern|April 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

At first he didn't get the joke, but then he was slapping his thigh, poking his finger at his photographer.
The Man Who Photographed the 20th Century’s Greatest Icons|Chantel Tattoli|December 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Im sure of it, said Billy, poking his head in from the back porch.
Winona of the Camp Fire|Margaret Widdemer
Anno shouted, turning round and poking the coachman in the ribs with her umbrella.
Werwolves|Elliott O'Donnell
"'Liza says it was a cow, once," observed Zaidee, poking her fingers in the big holes where the eyes once were.
Cricket at the Seashore|Elizabeth Westyn Timlow
He must be pretty cashy, for she has everything she wants, but it gets on her nerves having him poking round all the while.
Flaming June|Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey
"It's not unpleasant at all," she answered, poking the spoon at his mouth.
Penrod and Sam|Booth Tarkington

British Dictionary definitions for poking (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 poking (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 poking (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 poking (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 poking (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 poking (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 poking (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 poking (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 poking

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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Idioms

Origin of poke

Examples from the Web for poking

British Dictionary definitions for poking (1 of 4)

poke

verb

noun

Word Origin for poke

British Dictionary definitions for poking (2 of 4)

poke

noun

Word Origin for poke

British Dictionary definitions for poking (3 of 4)

poke

noun

Word Origin for poke

British Dictionary definitions for poking (4 of 4)

poke

noun

Word Origin and History for poking (1 of 4)

poke

Word Origin and History for poking (1 of 4)

poke

Word Origin and History for poking (2 of 4)

poke

Word Origin and History for poking (3 of 4)

poke

Idioms and Phrases with poking

poke