poke
1 (pōk)
[Middle English poken, probably from Middle Low German, or Middle Dutch.]
verb: poked, pok·ing, pokes.
transitive verb
- To push or jab at, as with a finger or an arm; prod.
- To make (a hole or pathway, for example) by or as if by prodding, elbowing, or jabbing: I poked my way to the front of the crowd.
- To push; thrust: A seal poked its head out of the water.
- To stir (a fire) by prodding the wood or coal with a poker or stick.
- Slang To strike; punch.
intransitive verb
- To make thrusts or jabs, as with a stick or poker.
- To pry or meddle; intrude: poking into another's business.
- To search or look curiously in a desultory manner: poked about in the desk.
- To proceed in a slow or lazy manner; putter: just poked along all morning.
- To thrust forward; appear: The child's head poked from under the blankets.
noun
- A push, thrust, or jab.
- Slang A punch or blow with the fist: a poke in the jaw.
- One who moves slowly or aimlessly; a dawdler.
idioms
- poke fun at
- To ridicule in a mischievous manner; tease.
poke
2 (pōk)
[From poke1.]
noun
- A projecting brim at the front of a bonnet.
- A large bonnet having a projecting brim.
poke
3 (pōk)
[Middle English, probably from Old North French; see pocket.]
noun
Chiefly Southern U.S.- A sack; a bag.
poke
4 (pōk)
[Short for dialectal pocan, of Virginia Algonquian originakin to puccoon.]
noun
- Pokeweed.
