as in to play (on or upon)
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of jerk around
And that’s not even taking into consideration the continual jerking around of Busy Philipps.
—
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 18 July 2025
He was locked up to be a franchise player, and franchise players aren’t typically jerked around like that.
—Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 18 June 2025
The vehicles are tricked out with surround sound, too; and at one point on our joyride the bus was jerked around by the bus driver to simulate the sensation of a subway speeding underfoot.
—Patricia Marx, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
The shocking news out of this summer’s Olympic break-dancing competition in Paris wasn’t that a female Australian competitor had hopped and jerked around like Uma Thurman being revived from a drug coma in Pulp Fiction.
—Christian Schneider, National Review, 24 Oct. 2024
Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons Category: Starter to star After a year where the former lottery pick was jerked around in regard to minutes, role, and even on-court responsibilities, Ivey is now set to enter his third year, finally with some stability attached to his name.
—Morten Stig Jensen, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
The camera jerks around to emphasize the Captain’s growing panic.
—Terry Nguyen, Vulture, 19 May 2024
For a population like Gaza’s, there’s not enough food, people have been jerked around from place to place.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 8 May 2024
The guy in the center seat where the stringer was tied off noticed it was being jerked around.
—Idaho Statesman, 2 Mar. 2016
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 18 July 2025
He was locked up to be a franchise player, and franchise players aren’t typically jerked around like that.
—Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 18 June 2025
The vehicles are tricked out with surround sound, too; and at one point on our joyride the bus was jerked around by the bus driver to simulate the sensation of a subway speeding underfoot.
—Patricia Marx, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
The shocking news out of this summer’s Olympic break-dancing competition in Paris wasn’t that a female Australian competitor had hopped and jerked around like Uma Thurman being revived from a drug coma in Pulp Fiction.
—Christian Schneider, National Review, 24 Oct. 2024
Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons Category: Starter to star After a year where the former lottery pick was jerked around in regard to minutes, role, and even on-court responsibilities, Ivey is now set to enter his third year, finally with some stability attached to his name.
—Morten Stig Jensen, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
The camera jerks around to emphasize the Captain’s growing panic.
—Terry Nguyen, Vulture, 19 May 2024
For a population like Gaza’s, there’s not enough food, people have been jerked around from place to place.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 8 May 2024
The guy in the center seat where the stringer was tied off noticed it was being jerked around.
—Idaho Statesman, 2 Mar. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jerk around
Verb
-
Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Aug. 2025
-
Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Over the years, investigators pursued multiple leads without success, releasing a composite sketch of the suspect and using genetic genealogy and familial DNA testing in search of a match.—
Stephanie Murray,
AZCentral.com,
9 Aug. 2025
-
Photos used in this column were made possible by the Barry Bingham Jr. Photograph Collection, which is maintained by University of Louisville Archives & Special Collections staff.—
Leo Bertucci,
Louisville Courier Journal,
9 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
In Rolling Stone’s year-end issue for 1990, the first page had loads of stars giving their summary of the year, mostly pimping their latest career highlights.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
23 July 2025
-
Gibson was also convicted of two counts of trafficking a person, pimping, pandering, keeping a place of prostitution, battery, possession of a firearm during commission of felony and other crimes, Fulton County media relations director Pallavi Bailey said.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
22 July 2025
Verb
-
With a robust installer network and over 15 million annual installations, Resideo is well-positioned to expand its portfolio and accelerate product development, leveraging its scale and operational discipline to drive margin improvement and long-term shareholder value.—
Joe Cornell,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
-
Advanta now leverages 20 robots, boosting its production output by 400% compared to when the work was done solely by humans.—
Stuart Dyos,
The Tennessean,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The filing points to other high-profile instances when CDCR employees were harassed, threatened and mistreated by other officers.—
William Melhado,
Sacbee.com,
4 Aug. 2025
-
In some communities, especially those that have been mistreated or exploited by the medical establishment, this skepticism is deep-rooted and understandable.—
Sonali Bloom,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
Verb
-
Published in April, the Change Associates review found that a small number of employees continue to abuse their power at the corporation.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
7 Aug. 2025
-
His father, a livery man, didn’t understand him, and apparently abused him.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Jerk around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jerk%20around. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share