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Definition of poke - 14 dictionary results

poke

1  [pohk] verb, poked, pok⋅ing, noun
Use poke in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to prod or push, esp. with something narrow or pointed, as a finger, elbow, stick, etc.: to poke someone in the ribs.
2. to make (a hole, one's way, etc.) by or as by prodding or pushing.
3. to thrust or push: She poked her head out of the window.
4. to force, drive, or stir by or as by pushing or thrusting: He poked the fire up.
5. to thrust obtrusively: The prosecutor kept poking his finger at the defendant.
–verb (used without object)
6. to make a pushing or thrusting movement with the finger, a stick, etc.
7. to extend or project (often fol. by out): His handkerchief is poking out of his back pocket.
8. to thrust oneself obtrusively: to poke into something that is not one's affair.
9. to search curiously; pry (often fol. by around or about).
10. to go or proceed in a slow or aimless way (often fol. by along).
–noun
11. a thrust or push.
12. Informal. a slow or dawdling person; slowpoke.
—Idioms
13. poke fun at, to ridicule or mock, esp. covertly or slyly: In her novel, she pokes fun at her ex-husband.
14. 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:
1300–50; ME < MD, MLG poken to thrust. See poach 1

Related forms:
pok⋅a⋅ble, adjective

poke

2  [pohk]
–noun
1. Chiefly Midland U.S. and Scot.. a bag or sack, esp. a small one.
2. a wallet or purse.
3. Archaic. a pocket.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < MD, whence also ONF poque, F poche bag, pocket; cf. poach 2 , pocket, pouch

poke

3  [pohk]
–noun
1. a projecting brim at the front of a bonnet, framing the face.
2. Also called poke bonnet. a bonnet or hat with such a brim.
Origin:
1760–70; appar. special use of poke 1

poke

4  [pohk]
–noun
pokeweed.
Origin:
1590–1600; perh. shortening of obs. pocan pokeweed, perh. var. of puccoon (pokeberries and puccoon roots were both sources of red dye)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To poke
poke 1   (pōk)   
v.   poked, pok·ing, pokes

v.   tr.

  1. To push or jab at, as with a finger or an arm; prod.

  2. 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.

  3. To push; thrust: A seal poked its head out of the water.

  4. To stir (a fire) by prodding the wood or coal with a poker or stick.

  5. Slang To strike; punch.

v.   intr.

  1. To make thrusts or jabs, as with a stick or poker.

  2. To pry or meddle; intrude: poking into another's business.

  3. To search or look curiously in a desultory manner: poked about in the desk.

  4. To proceed in a slow or lazy manner; putter: just poked along all morning.

  5. To thrust forward; appear: The child's head poked from under the blankets.

n.  

  1. A push, thrust, or jab.

  2. Slang A punch or blow with the fist: a poke in the jaw.

  3. One who moves slowly or aimlessly; a dawdler.


[Middle English poken, probably from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch.]
poke 2   (pōk)   
n.  

  1. A projecting brim at the front of a bonnet.

  2. A large bonnet having a projecting brim.


[From poke1.]
poke 3   (pōk)   
n.   Chiefly Southern U.S.
A sack; a bag.

[Middle English, probably from Old North French; see pocket.]
A pig in a poke is concealed in a sack from the buyer. The noun poke—meaning a bag or sack—dates from the 14th century in English. In many parts of Scotland poke means a little paper bag for carrying purchases or a cone-shaped piece of paper for an ice-cream cone. The Oxford English Dictionary gives similar forms in other languages: Icelandic poki, Gaelic poc or poca, and French poche.
poke 4   (pōk)   
n.  Pokeweed.

[Short for dialectal pocan, of Virginia Algonquian origin; akin to puccoon.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
poke

  1. n.
    a puff of a marijuana cigarette or pipe. (Drugs. See also toke.) : Can I have a poke of that?
  2. tv.
    [for a male] to copulate (with a female). (Crude. Usually objectionable.) : Your dog poked my dog, then ran away.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

poke  (v.)
c.1380, perhaps from M.Du. poken "to poke," or M.L.G. poken "to stick with a knife," both from P.Gmc. base *puk-, perhaps imitative. To poke fun "tease" first attested 1840; to poke around "search" is from 1809. The noun meaning "an act of poking" is attested from 1796, originally pugilistic slang.

poke  (n.1)
"sack," 1228, probably from O.N.Fr. poque (12c.), probably from a P.Gmc. *puk- (cf. O.E. pocca, M.Du. poke, O.N. poki "bag, pocket"), from PIE base *beu-, an imitative root associated with words for "to swell."

poke  (n.2)
1634, "tobacco plant," from Narraganset puck "smoke," shortened from Algonquian uppowoc. Klein gives source as Virginian puccoon, lit. "plant for staining." The exact plant meant by the Indians is likewise uncertain.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Computing Dictionary

poke
The BASIC command to write a value to an absolute address.
See peek.
[The Jargon File]
(1995-01-31)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Idioms & Phrases

poke

In addition to the idioms beginning with poke, also see make fun of (poke fun at); pig in a poke; take a poke at.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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