POKER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does poker mean? 

• POKER (noun)
  The noun POKER has 2 senses:

1. fire iron consisting of a metal rod with a handle; used to stir a fire

2. any of various card games in which players bet that they hold the highest-ranking hand

  Familiarity information: POKER used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• POKER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Fire iron consisting of a metal rod with a handle; used to stir a fire

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

fire hook; poker; salamander; stove poker

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

fire iron (metal fireside implements)

Derivation:

poke (stir by poking)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any of various card games in which players bet that they hold the highest-ranking hand

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

poker; poker game

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

card game; cards (a game played with playing cards)

Domain member category:

raise (increasing the size of a bet (as in poker))

poker face (a face without any interpretable expression (as that of a good poker player))

jackpot; kitty; pot (the cumulative amount involved in a game (such as poker))

ante ((poker) the initial contribution that each player makes to the pot)

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

draw; draw poker (poker in which a player can discard cards and receive substitutes from the dealer)

high-low (poker in which the high and low hands split the pot)

penny ante; penny ante poker (poker played for small stakes)

straight poker (poker in which each player gets 5 cards face down and bets are made without drawing any further cards)

strip poker (poker in which a player's losses are paid by removing an article of clothing)

stud; stud poker (poker in which each player receives hole cards and the remainder are dealt face up; bets are placed after each card is dealt)

 Context examples 

I had sprung for the poker, and it was a fair fight between us.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Come here, Amy, and do the fainting scene, for you are as stiff as a poker in that.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The man’s skull had been shattered by a blow from a poker delivered from behind.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The English are excellent at a flat-iron or a kitchen poker, but anything more delicate is beyond them.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Oh! That fellow!” said Steerforth, beating a lump of coal on the top of the fire, with the poker.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“There is an axe in the theatre,” continued Poole; “and you might take the kitchen poker for yourself.”

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

An Eley’s No. 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen who can twist steel pokers into knots.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Many people enjoy gambling, whether it's betting on a horse or playing poker on the Internet.

(Compulsive Gambling, NIH: Natonal Institutes of Health)

Strong as a lion—witness the blow that bent that poker!

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“And now, Poole, let us get to ours,” he said; and taking the poker under his arm, led the way into the yard.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)