poke

poke¹ [pəuk US pouk] v

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1¦(with a finger/stick etc)¦

2¦(through a space/hole)¦

3¦(be seen)¦

4 poke a hole

5 poke holes in something

6 poke fun at somebody

7 poke your nose into something

8 poke the fire

9¦(sex)¦

Phrasal verbs

　poke along

　poke around

　poke into something

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1.) ¦(WITH A FINGER/STICK ETC)¦ [I and T]

to quickly push your finger or some other pointed object into something or someone

poke sb/sth with sth

▪ Andy poked the fish with his finger to see if it was still alive.

poke sb in the eye/arm/ribs etc

▪ Be careful with that umbrella or you'll poke someone in the eye.

poke at

▪ He was poking at the dust with a stick, making little patterns.

2.) ¦(THROUGH A SPACE/HOLE)¦ [T always + adverb/preposition]

to move or push something through a space or opening

poke sth in/into/through sth

▪ He poked a hand into one of his pockets.

▪ One of the nurses poked her head around the door.

3.) ¦(BE SEEN)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]

if something is poking through or out of something else, you can see part of it but not all of it

poke out

▪ Ella looked at the tiny face poking out of the blanket.

poke through

▪ Weeds had started poking through the cracks in the patio.

4.) poke a hole

to make a hole or hollow area in something by pushing something pointed into or through it

poke a hole into/in/through

▪ Poke a hole in the dough, and then form it into a rounded shape.

5.) poke holes in sth

to find mistakes or problems in a plan or in what someone has said

▪ Defense attorneys tried to poke holes in Rodger's story.

6.) poke fun at sb

to make fun of someone in an unkind way

▪ Some of the kids were poking fun at Judy because of the way she was dressed.

7.) poke your nose into sth informal

to take an interest or get involved in someone else's private affairs, in a way that annoys them

▪ I'm sick of your mother poking her nose into our marriage.

8.) poke the fire

to move coal or wood in a fire with a stick to make it burn better

9.) ¦(SEX)¦ [T]

spoken not polite to have sex with a woman

poke along phr v

to move very slowly

▪ He kept the car in the slow lane, poking along at about 40 miles an hour.

poke around phr v

1.) to look for something, especially by moving a lot of things around

poke around in

▪ James began poking about in the cupboard, looking for the sugar.

2.) to try to find out information about other people's private lives, business etc, in a way that annoys them

poke around in

▪ Stop poking around in my business!

3.) poke around (sth)

to spend time in shops, markets etc looking at nothing in particular

= ↑browse

▪ I spent Sunday afternoon poking around an old bookshop.

poke into [poke into sth] phr v

to try to find out information about other people's private lives, business etc, in a way that annoys them

poke ²

poke² n

1.) give sb/sth a poke

to quickly push your fingers, a stick etc into something or someone

▪ Vanessa gave me a playful poke in the ribs.

2.) AmE informal a criticism of someone or something

▪ Bennett took a poke at the President's refusal to sign the bill.