| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| poke1 |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  p k |
| VERB: | Inflected forms: poked, pok·ing, pokes
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 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. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | 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. | | NOUN: | 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. | | IDIOM: | poke fun at To ridicule in a mischievous manner; tease. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English poken, probably from Middle Low Germanor Middle Dutch.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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