jerk

noun

\ ˈjərk

Definition of jerk

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : an annoyingly stupid or foolish person was acting like a jerk

b : an unlikable person especially : one who is cruel, rude, or small-minded a selfish jerk

2 : a single quick motion of short duration a sudden jerk gave the handle a jerk

3a : jolting, bouncing, or thrusting motions

b : a tendency to produce spasmodic motions

4a : an involuntary spasmodic muscular movement due to reflex action

b jerks plural : involuntary twitchings due to nervous excitement

5 : the pushing of a weight from shoulder height to a position overhead : the second phase of the clean and jerk in weight lifting

jerk

verb (1)

jerked; jerking; jerks

Definition of jerk (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

1 : to give a quick suddenly arrested push, pull, or twist to jerk a rope

2 : to propel or move with or as if with a quick suddenly arrested motion jerked the door open

3 : to mix and serve (drinks, such as sodas) behind a soda fountain

intransitive verb

1 : to make a sudden spasmodic motion Her hand jerked up suddenly.

2 : to move in short abrupt motions or with frequent jolts

jerk

verb (2)

jerked; jerking; jerks

Definition of jerk (Entry 3 of 3)

transitive verb

: to preserve (meat) in long sun-dried slices

Other Words from jerk Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about jerk

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of jerk in a Sentence

Noun

That jerk can't do anything right. Most of the kids are nice, but some are jerks. The dead branch came loose after a few jerks. He felt the jerk of the line as a fish took the bait. The car started with a jerk.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Much of it works charmingly, thanks to Mr. Mortensen’s improbable buoyancy: Tony is clearly a stout-hearted guy, as well as a slob and a jerk. — Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, "‘Green Book’ Review: Trying to Get Along," 15 Nov. 2018 Up to 50,000 people participate in Carnival Monday, called the Grand Finale, after which there are even more parties, and food stands serving up jerk chicken and roti. — Kristin Braswell, Vogue, "The Caribbean Carnivals You Don’t Want to Miss This Summer," 24 June 2018 Across the way, another Central City restaurant, 14 Parishes, is serving jerk chicken and rice. — Ann Maloney, NOLA.com, "Pythian Market dishes out food from around the world: Opening alert," 1 June 2018 Gold skewers or wooden skewers to serve the jerk chicken? — Jason Parham, WIRED, "Welcome to the Social Media ‘Black Power Kitchen’ of Tomorrow," 29 May 2018 His poultry chapter includes recipes for Caribbean jerk chicken, fiery African piri-piri chicken and Indian tandoori chicken. — Barry Estabrook, WSJ, "Summer Books: Food," 23 May 2018 Coming up: lamb asado, piri piri turkey, barbacoa, pollo a la brasa, yakitori, jerk chicken, beef pastrami and whole-animal barbecues. — Carol Deptolla, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Iron Grate BBQ growing with specials, whole-animal butchering," 8 Mar. 2018 In my case, hurricane Tim (pun intended) was a jerk, which embarrassed me a lot. — Timothy Morton, The Atlantic, "The Hurricane in My Backyard," 8 July 2018 Others have included jerk chicken and seasonal dishes such as schnitzel and dumplings for Octoberfest or corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day. — Donna Vickroy, Daily Southtown, "In the kitchen with the Bartolini brothers, whose spaghetti and meatballs are 'No. 1 in Illinois'," 7 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The tear-jerking trailer, somber music, and family feel already has people assuming this show is This Is Us 2.0. — Amanda Garrity, Good Housekeeping, "The Cast of 'The Village' Will Apparently Make You Cry Even Harder Than 'This Is Us'," 19 Mar. 2019 Use steady, even pressure to pull up without twisting or jerking. — Taylor Mead, House Beautiful, "Ticks Are Posing Higher Risks for More People and Pets, According to Experts," 10 Apr. 2019 In addition to deploying the airbags, a vehicle will also trigger seatbelt pretensioners that jerk the seatbelts a couple inches tighter, pulling passengers into their seats. — Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, "Seat belt fires spark recall of two million Ford F-150 trucks," 6 Sep. 2018 The chain brake can be engaged in three ways: by releasing the throttle trigger lockout, by pushing the hand guard forward, or if something jerks the saw, which is called kickback. — Kevin Dupzyk, Popular Mechanics, "Watch Us Take Apart a Chainsaw Into 297 Pieces," 24 June 2015 And the fact that Heath Ledger is no longer with us certainly ups the tear-jerking factor. — Cady Drell, Marie Claire, "15 Sad Movies for When You Need Something to Cry About," 3 Oct. 2018 Twisting or jerking the tick can cause parts to break off, and the agitation might make the pest salivate more, potentially releasing more disease-causing bacteria into the bite wound. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "Everyone Needs to Assemble a "Tick Kit" This Summer," 21 June 2017 The pilot suddenly jerks the nose of the Su-35 straight up and then the plane flips around in midair while momentum still carries it forward. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "This Su-35 Flight Demo Will Make Your Head Explode," 20 July 2017 Head spinning, leg holding and body jerking have all iconically dominated the appeal of breakdancing since its inception. — Amira Rasool, Teen Vogue, "Red Bull's BC One World Is Giving Female Breakdancers the Platform They Deserve," 29 Sep. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'jerk.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.