POKE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does poke mean? 

• POKE (noun)
  The noun POKE has 5 senses:

1. tall coarse perennial American herb having small white flowers followed by blackish-red berries on long drooping racemes; young fleshy stems are edible; berries and root are poisonous

2. someone who takes more time than necessary; someone who lags behind

3. a bag made of paper or plastic for holding customer's purchases

4. a sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow)

5. (boxing) a blow with the fist

  Familiarity information: POKE used as a noun is common.

• POKE (verb)
  The verb POKE has 5 senses:

1. poke or thrust abruptly

2. search or inquire in a meddlesome way

3. stir by poking

4. hit hard with the hand, fist, or some heavy instrument

5. make a hole by poking

  Familiarity information: POKE used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• POKE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Tall coarse perennial American herb having small white flowers followed by blackish-red berries on long drooping racemes; young fleshy stems are edible; berries and root are poisonous

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

garget; Phytolacca americana; pigeon berry; poke; scoke

Hypernyms ("poke" is a kind of...):

pokeweed (perennial of the genus Phytolacca)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Someone who takes more time than necessary; someone who lags behind

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

dawdler; drone; laggard; lagger; poke; trailer

Hypernyms ("poke" is a kind of...):

bum; do-nothing; idler; layabout; loafer (person who does no work)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "poke"):

lingerer; loiterer (someone who lingers aimlessly in or about a place)

plodder; slowcoach; slowpoke; stick-in-the-mud (someone who moves slowly)

potterer; putterer (a person who putters about)

straggler; strayer (someone who strays or falls behind)

Derivation:

pokey; poky (wasting time)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A bag made of paper or plastic for holding customer's purchases

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

carrier bag; paper bag; poke; sack

Hypernyms ("poke" is a kind of...):

bag (a flexible container with a single opening)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "poke"):

doggie bag; doggy bag (a bag for food that a customer did not eat at a restaurant; the transparent pretense is that the food is taken home to feed the customer's dog)

grocery bag (a sack for holding customer's groceries)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

jab; jabbing; poke; poking; thrust; thrusting

Context example:

he made a thrusting motion with his fist

Hypernyms ("poke" is a kind of...):

gesture (motion of hands or body to emphasize or help to express a thought or feeling)

Derivation:

poke (poke or thrust abruptly)

poke (make a hole by poking)

Sense 5

Meaning:

(boxing) a blow with the fist

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

biff; clout; lick; poke; punch; slug

Context example:

I gave him a clout on his nose

Hypernyms ("poke" is a kind of...):

blow (a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon)

Domain category:

boxing; fisticuffs; pugilism (fighting with the fists)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "poke"):

counter; counterpunch; parry (a return punch (especially by a boxer))

haymaker; knockout punch; KO punch; Sunday punch (a hard punch that renders the opponent unable to continue boxing)

hook (a short swinging punch delivered from the side with the elbow bent)

jab (a quick short straight punch)

rabbit punch (a short chopping blow to the back of the neck)

sucker punch (an unexpected punch)

Derivation:

poke (hit hard with the hand, fist, or some heavy instrument)

• POKE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they poke    ... he / she / it pokes   
Past simple: poked   
Past participle: poked   
-ing form: poking   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Poke or thrust abruptly

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

dig; jab; poke; prod; stab

Context example:

he jabbed his finger into her ribs

Hypernyms (to "poke" is one way to...):

thrust (push forcefully)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

poke; poking (a sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Search or inquire in a meddlesome way

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

horn in; intrude; nose; poke; pry

Context example:

This guy is always nosing around the office

Hypernyms (to "poke" is one way to...):

look; search (search or seek)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Sense 3

Meaning:

Stir by poking

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

poke the embers in the fireplace

Hypernyms (to "poke" is one way to...):

agitate; commove; disturb; raise up; shake up; stir up; vex (change the arrangement or position of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

poker (fire iron consisting of a metal rod with a handle; used to stir a fire)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Hit hard with the hand, fist, or some heavy instrument

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

poke; pound; thump

Context example:

a bible-thumping Southern Baptist

Hypernyms (to "poke" is one way to...):

hit (deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

poke ((boxing) a blow with the fist)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Make a hole by poking

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "poke" is one way to...):

pierce (make a hole into)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

poke (a sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow))

 Context examples 

Again, if I move a finger or relax a muscle of my face, Miss Murdstone pokes me with her prayer-book, and makes my side ache.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Lord bless me! how do you think I can live poking by myself, I who have been always used till this winter to have Charlotte with me.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

"Why don't you poke him?" Brissenden asked.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Uranus will poke his horns into this new moon, so no matter which person in your life this new moon points to, life won’t always be smooth.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

I hate the sight of that sharp-pointed snout of his, which he wants to be ever poking into my affairs.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Towards midnight he was about to poke his fire, and as he was blowing it, something cried suddenly from one corner: Au, miau! how cold we are!

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

No more than I expected, if you are allowed to go poking about among poor folks.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Men stared at him, poked sticks between the bars to make him snarl, and then laughed at him.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Cassini's Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) instrument was one of two science instruments with sensors that poke out from the protective shield of the antenna (the other being Cassini's magnetometer).

(Cassini Finds 'The Big Empty' Close to Saturn, NASA)

They only laughed and poked sticks at him, which he promptly assailed with his teeth till he realized that that was what they wanted.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)