POKE • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Poke

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/poʊk/ Listen

verb

Poke v. t. (past & past part. poked; pres. part. poking)

To thrust or push against or into with anything pointed; hence, to stir up; to excite; as, to poke a fire. "He poked John, and said "Sleepest thou?""

To thrust with the horns; to gore.

To put a poke on; as, to poke an ox. (Colloq. U. S.)

To poke fun, to excite fun; to joke; to jest. (Colloq.)

To poke fun at, to make a butt of; to ridicule. (Colloq.)

Poke v. i. To search; to feel one's way, as in the dark; to grope; as, to poke about. "A man must have poked into Latin and Greek."

noun

Poke n. (Bot.) A large North American herb of the genus Phytolacca (Phytolacca decandra), bearing dark purple juicy berries; called also garget, pigeon berry, pocan, and pokeweed. The root and berries have emetic and purgative properties, and are used in medicine. The young shoots are sometimes eaten as a substitute for asparagus, and the berries are said to be used in Europe to color wine.

Poke n.

A bag; a sack; a pocket. "He drew a dial from his poke." "They wallowed as pigs in a poke."

A long, wide sleeve; called also poke sleeve.

To boy a pig a poke (that is, in a bag), to buy a thing without knowledge or examination of it.

Poke n.

The act of poking; a thrust; a jog; as, a poke in the ribs.

A lazy person; a dawdler; also, a stupid or uninteresting person. (Slang, U.S.)

A contrivance to prevent an animal from leaping or breaking through fences. It consists of a yoke with a pole inserted, pointed forward. (U.S.)

Poke bonnet, a bonnet with a straight, projecting front.

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Etymology of 'Poke'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Poke" Quotes from Famous Books

... as arranged in relation to the yoke, C, and in combination with the poke, A, in the manner as and for ...

— Scientific American, Vol. 17, No. 26 December 28, 1867 • Various

... and don't disturb the little ones. Imogene, that lesson must be learned before I come back, you know. Now, dear, that was very, very naughty. When Mamma tells you to do things you mustn't pout and poke Stella with your foot in that way. It isn't nice at all. Stella is younger than you, and you ought to set her samples, as Nursey says. Look at Ning Po Ganges, how good she is, and how she minds all I say, and yet she's the ...

— Nine Little Goslings • Susan Coolidge

... jumped and exclaimed, "Why, you baby, I had forgotten all about that two dollars and seventy-five cents I borrowed of you last month. And here it is only the sixth of November, but my allowance is nearly gone. Why didn't you poke up my memory?" ...

— Beatrice Leigh at College - A Story for Girls • Julia Augusta Schwartz

... take to drink, my boy, supposin' you gits the offer?" inquired another man, giving him a facetious poke ...

— The Lifeboat • R.M. Ballantyne

... much farther into the city, quite in the native quarter. It is a real adventure to make an expedition there, and the owners allow us to poke in back rooms from which we unearth wondrous treasures in the way of old brass vases; queer, slender-necked scent-bottles still faintly smelling of roses; old lacquer boxes, and bits of rich embroidery. ...

— Olivia in India • O. Douglas

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