How to Use jerk in a Sentence

jerk

1 of 2 noun

• He felt the jerk of the line as a fish took the bait.
• The car started with a jerk.
• Most of the kids are nice, but some are jerks.
• The dead branch came loose after a few jerks.
• That jerk can't do anything right.
• The 16-year-old is an a-hole at worst and a jerk at best to the 11-year-old.
  — Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2022
• The flip side of that is like, dang, nobody wants to work with a jerk.
  — James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Sep. 2022
• But peacocks are not the brightest and can be kind of jerks.
  — Sandra Gutierrez, Popular Science, 25 Oct. 2023
• On the other hand, no one wants to do business with a jerk.
  — Dylan Ogline, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2022
• Hence, the jerks are able to reign without much pushback.
  — Brian Hamilton, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2024
• It is made to order, so steamed, fried, jerk, baked or brown stew.
  — Kristine M. Kierzek, Journal Sentinel, 15 Mar. 2023
• Bed bugs are resilient little jerks who play the world's worst game of hide-and-seek.
  — John Tufts, The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024
• The jerks and the misogynists have so far been left to shape the metaverse in their own image.
  — Moira Donegan, ELLE, 14 Apr. 2023
• In the metaverse, work will be rewarding, and your boss will not be a jerk.
  — Joe Queenan, WSJ, 6 Jan. 2022
• There’s been one guy who was a jerk out of the couple hundred who ordered.
  — Josh Chesler, SPIN, 1 Feb. 2023
• The weight of the shelf caused the bracket to settle into place with a visible jerk.
  — Barry Markovsky, Discover Magazine, 29 Oct. 2023
• There was no jerk when the motor kicked in, as there can be with a pedal-assist.
  — Patricia Marx, The New Yorker, 26 Dec. 2022
• If your boss is a jerk, why is everyone walking off the cliff for him/her?
  — Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Sep. 2022
• Your reluctance here arises from the fact that your brother has been a jerk to you over the years.
  — New York Times, 11 Jan. 2022
• The privileged jerks who JB and his team encounter are also, of course, sore losers and cheaters.
  — Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2023
• Looking back, there were clues that the manager for one of her prior roles might be a jerk.
  — Tara Weiss, WSJ, 17 Jan. 2023
• Your experience and your feelings are her chance to open her mind and be, frankly, less of a jerk.
  — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2023
• Radcliffe somehow missed the part where the child star becomes an unhinged jerk.
  — Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 15 Nov. 2023
• Along with that jerk pork, there’s a whole chicken that leaves few techniques untried.
  — Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 26 Jan. 2024
• The idea that somebody can function in the world with a disability and also be a jerk as well?
  — Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Feb. 2024
• The film is based on screenwriter Catherine Léger’s play, and perhaps the herky-jerk structure works on stage.
  — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 23 Jan. 2022
• That's the maritime equivalent of a jerk cutting you off on the freeway, forcing you to slam on your breaks.
  — Jamie McIntyre, Washington Examiner, 8 June 2023
• What's the key for bringing that charm to a character who's otherwise a jerk?
  — Evan Romano, Men's Health, 12 Dec. 2022
• The actor doesn’t shy away from what a jerk Chuck can be, no matter how well-intentioned.
  — Jenelle Riley, Variety, 10 Mar. 2023
• Your former mother-in-law may be aware of what a toxic jerk her son is, and this is her way of trying to make amends.
  — Amy Dickinson, Anchorage Daily News, 3 June 2023

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jerk

2 of 2 verb

• Yonatan jerked away from his phone, then looked at the names again.
  — Kevin Sieff, Washington Post, 7 Nov. 2023
• Snider wore a pitch to start the frame and Mann jerked a single to right field.
  — Randy Rosetta, The Courier-Journal, 1 June 2018
• Her hand jerked, and the brush rolled off the ceramic rest.
  — Veronica Chambers, New York Times, 28 June 2019
• Should kids who love to daydream be jerked back to earth?
  — Laura Turner, Glamour, 26 Apr. 2019
• Don't twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin.
  — Nancy Clanton, ajc, 3 May 2019
• Each time the strap connected with flesh, the army cot the boys clung to would jerk and heave.
  — Carol Marbin Miller, miamiherald, 10 July 2018
• Her eyes scanned the ground, then jerked back up toward the anchor.
  — Anna Callaghan, Outside Online, 3 Apr. 2018
• Too much, and the rider exited off the back or got jerked to the side.
  — Andrew Graybill, WSJ, 25 May 2018
• The girl rose and began running with the headphones on, but the cord jerked her back.
  — Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 6 Jan. 2024
• Still, no one jerked hard enough to lift the rod twenty inches.
  — Justin Nobel, Longreads, 5 Sep. 2017
• Do not twist or jerk the bug, to avoid causing the mouthparts to break off and remain in the skin.
  — Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 30 June 2021
• Be ready for the head-jerking jolt when the driver nails the throttle, even a little bit.
  — San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 July 2019
• Only after the party jerked left did the GOP win its 2010 blowout.
  — Kimberley A. Strassel, WSJ, 1 Nov. 2018
• Its grip was so tight that when the hawk grabbed it, Peggy’s entire arm jerked up in the air with the attempt.
  — Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN, 9 Aug. 2023
• Spices smudge the surface and resonate deep into the meat of both Boswell’s jerk chicken and pork.
  — Brett Anderson, NOLA.com, 30 Jan. 2018
• The steering wheel jerked to the right, then to the left, and the airbags deployed seconds before the car jumped the curb and slammed into the business.
  — Cory Shaffer, cleveland, 21 Aug. 2023
• Jockey Abel Cedillo jerked on the reins to ease the 4-year-old gelding, who hopped on three legs.
  — Washington Post, 4 Nov. 2019
• Still, the climax arrives with tear-jerking catharsis all the same.
  — Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 9 Dec. 2019
• And the fact that Heath Ledger is no longer with us certainly ups the tear-jerking factor.
  — Cady Drell, Marie Claire, 3 Oct. 2018
• The combine's cabin sits 10 feet up, with a windshield that wraps around for a clear view of the beans being jerked from the ground.
  — Autumn Schoolman, Indianapolis Star, 4 Feb. 2020
• Her hands would jerk up at her sides as if in surrender.
  — Mark Johnson, Anchorage Daily News, 11 May 2023
• His eyes darted and his body jerked at every loud noise in the busy ER hallway.
  — Julia Michie Bruckner, Discover Magazine, 11 May 2018
• One of the crew jerks a lever, releasing the first in a line of 3-month-old calves, standing rump to face in the confines of the metal chute.
  — Melissa Lyttle, Smithsonian, 13 Dec. 2017
• Burkett then tried to jerk away from his captors and grab a radio from a desk in the control room.
  — oregonlive, 8 Nov. 2019
• Beth stood up as if to change the station on the television, then reached up and jerked the curtain aside.
  — Tribune News Service, oregonlive.com, 22 June 2019
• As the fingertip snapped up, the right thumb jerked toward the index finger.
  — Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 1 Feb. 2018
• The Camry’s driver jerked his car onto the right shoulder.
  — Cyrus Farivar, Ars Technica, 17 Oct. 2018
• When the stress is too much and the system has to jerk into a new position, the jerk triggers an earthquake.
  — Jackie Appel, Popular Mechanics, 18 Apr. 2023
• Romance Who has time for loving with all the tear-jerking drama that is This Is Us?
  — Tracy L. Scott, The Root, 30 Oct. 2017
• Still, a big enough bump on the head can jerk the brain around inside this protective bath, or even slam it against the inside of the skull.
  — Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 8 Dec. 2022

Last Updated: 14 May 2024