jerk

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈjərk 

1

a

: 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

3

a

: jolting, bouncing, or thrusting motions

b

: a tendency to produce spasmodic motions

4

a

: 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

2 of 4

verb (1)

jerked; jerking; jerks

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

jerker noun

jerk

3 of 4

noun (2)

plural jerk

: a sweet and spicy dish of Jamaican origin that typically consists of pieces of meat, seafood, or vegetables that are marinated (as with green onion, thyme, allspice, chili pepper, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon) and barbecued

Jerk is a savory, flavorful result of the combination of African and native cultures on the island. … All Jamaicans have their own variations on jerk.

—Helen Willinsky

[The Maroons] … hunted wild pigs and deer for food. A kill ensured food, and preservation of the meat guaranteed sustenance during lean hunting or foraging times. Jerk as we know it today could have evolved from this early method of preserving meat using the island's spices.

—Melissa Thompson

Since dawn, Taylor Dudley of Boston Beach, Jamaica, has been at work turning a pig and plenty of hot peppers into jerk, the island's devilishly hot answer to barbecue.

—Kathleen Beckett-Young

—often used before another noun

Done right, jerk chicken is one of the great barbecue traditions of the world …

—Julia Moskin

The neck bones are marinated overnight in jerk spices, seared on the charcoal grill for color and flavor and then slow cooked in the oven.

—Shelia Johnson

Turning over layers of chicken wings to be doused in her mother's secret jerk sauce, she said cooking was an important tradition in her family.

—Lori Teresa Yearwood

[Rukmini] Iyer's jerk cauliflower wings are a good encapsulation of her approach, which layers texture and flavor …

—Rebecca Flint Marx

jerk

4 of 4

verb (2)

jerked; jerking; jerks

transitive verb

1

: to prepare or marinate (meat, seafood, or vegetables) in the style of Jamaican jerk (see jerk entry 3)

Pork has been jerked in Jamaica at least since the mid-seventeenth century. Methods of pit cooking were brought to the island by African slaves, and these methods were probably the beginnings of jerk cooking techniques—though the native West Indians also cooked food on green wood lattices over open fire.

—Helen Willinsky

Right next to a Jamaican vendor jerking chicken and roasting fish on a barrel, a thick white smoke rose into the damp air …

—Morlette Cowan

2

: to preserve (meat) in long dried slices

[Meat cutter] Olen Carpenito said he hopes to expand the business soon, perhaps offering to jerk meat for customers or opening a retail store.

—Vicki McClure

… deer hunters are often people of firm opinion, and many of them have their own ways of jerking venison.

—A. D. Livingston

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• bastard
• dog
• clown
• joker
• skunk
• creep

Verb (1)

• yank
• twitch
• pull
• lurch

Examples of jerk in a Sentence

Noun (1)

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.

Verb (1)

I jerked to one side to avoid getting hit

jerked the leash to get the dog's attention

you've got to quit jerking, or the barber will nick you by accident

the car jerked with every shift of the gear

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Lisa and Jody are mad that Larsa was a jerk at Jody’s birthday party. —Brian Moylan, Vulture, 26 June 2025

Based on my experience, labeling someone a contrarian is just an extremely polite way of calling out a person for being a jerk who’s obsessed with the sound of their own voice. —Sherry Kuehl, Kansas City Star, 25 June 2025

Verb

Centre Court looked naked without line judges, but Fognini’s presence and touch filled the void and jerked the joie de vivre out of Alcaraz’s racket. —Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025

Patrick Walle’s horn solo up top sounded suspended in time, before an increasingly feral orchestra jerked us back to street level. —Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1) and Verb (1)

probably alteration of yerk

Noun (2)

noun derivative of jerk entry 4

Verb (2)

probably back-formation from jerked, earlier girk't, jerkt "(of meat) cured by being cut into long slices and dried," formed with -ed entry 1 either from American Spanish charqui "meat cured in this manner" or from the English adjective jerkin in same sense (probably ultimately borrowed from southern Peruvian Quechua ch'arkini "to cure meat in this manner," causative derivative of ch'arki "cured meat") — more at jerky entry 2

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1575, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb (1)

1589, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1928, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1709, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing jerk

• clean and jerk
• give (something) a jerk
• jerk around
• jerk off
• knee jerk
• soda jerk

Rhymes for jerk

• berk
• birk
• cirque
• clerk
• dirk
• erk
• irk
• kirk
• lurk
• merc
• merch
• merk

Kids Definition

jerk

1 of 3 noun

ˈjərk 

1

: a short quick pull or twist : twitch

2

: an involuntary muscular movement or spasm

3

: an annoyingly stupid or foolish person

jerk

2 of 3 verb

1

: to give a short quick push, pull, or twist to

2

: to move in jerks or with a jerk

jerk

3 of 3 verb

: to preserve (meat) in long strips dried in the sun

Etymology

Verb

probably an altered form of earlier yerk "to beat or thrash"

Verb

from ¹jerky

Medical Definition

jerk

noun

ˈjərk 

: an involuntary spasmodic muscular movement due to reflex action

especially : one induced by an external stimulus see knee jerk