1
2
as in blow
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
you'd better shut up if you don't want a poke on the nose
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in insult
an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings
the constantly bickering husband and wife seem unable to let five minutes pass without an exchange of gratuitous pokes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
chiefly Southern & Midland
as in pouch
a container made of a flexible material (as paper or plastic)
the old warning against buying a pig in a poke
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in to protrude
to extend outward beyond a usual point
saw his head poking through the window
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to interfere
to interest oneself in what is not one's concern
told him to stop poking into other people's business
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to crawl
to move or act slowly
just poked around all morning and didn't accomplish much
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of poke
Endia Fontanez, AZCentral.com, 2 Oct. 2025
There weren’t any needles, pokes, or prods involved, just a simple applicator patch that stuck to the side of my stomach to help the machine navigate where to output the energy.
—Essence, 24 Sep. 2025
Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Oct. 2025
Nail heads are poking through the gym’s thin hardwood floors.
—Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for poke
Noun
Other menu options include poke bowls, donburi, noodles and Korean rice bowls.
—Endia Fontanez, AZCentral.com, 2 Oct. 2025
There weren’t any needles, pokes, or prods involved, just a simple applicator patch that stuck to the side of my stomach to help the machine navigate where to output the energy.
—Essence, 24 Sep. 2025
Verb
Aeration is the process of creating air spaces in a lawn, usually via 3-inch holes poked into the soil at regular intervals.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Oct. 2025
Nail heads are poking through the gym’s thin hardwood floors.
—Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for poke
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poke
Verb
-
Spider-y lash extensions protruded from her lash line, reaching to the bottom of her brows; a thin wing of black liner was drawn from the outer corners of her eyes.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
22 Oct. 2025
-
The protruding bracket behind the air guide appears to be a cable guide, and the box behind the cable guide is a three-drive cage.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Others say that humans should not interfere in forest growth and instead take a hands off approach.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The National Immigrant Justice Center says, if filming or taking notes of what's happening, take care not to interfere or obstruct the operation.—
Kinsey Crowley,
USA Today,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Ecologically, spiders are important predators of crawling insects.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
-
This 2022 Netflix original documentary will have your skin crawling.—
Emy LaCroix,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
But efforts to drag the barge to the site via helicopter failed, with the icebreaker getting stuck in ice and mud.—
Virginia Chamlee,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
-
As negotiations have dragged on, moreover, Beijing’s appetite has grown.—
Mira Rapp-Hooper,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Somebody does something terrible and messes it up.—
Giana Levy,
Variety,
31 Oct. 2025
-
If your smartwatch tracking every heartbeat and sleep cycle hasn’t already given you health anxiety, Kohler wants to mess you up in a new way.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Place pheromone traps around your closet to capture any lingering moths.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
31 Oct. 2025
-
The moon is glimmering, the veil between worlds is thin and there’s an air of mischief lingering in the shadows.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
That combination of high winds and creeping progress makes Melissa both unusual and unusually dangerous.—
Sara Sneath,
The Atlantic,
28 Oct. 2025
-
The chill is creeping in and the flowers that once filled your summer containers may be spent, but don't put those pots away just yet.—
Miranda Crowell,
Better Homes & Gardens,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Olympia is still looking for Senior’s mystery woman and decides to snoop through his Rolodex — old school!—
Dave Nemetz,
TVLine,
12 Oct. 2025
-
There also are characters straight from the David Lynch school of the bizarre, including the menacing figure who warns Ron to stop snooping around and the bearer of a disturbing story about a manufacturing job that requires being nude.—
Julie Hinds,
Freep.com,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Poke.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poke. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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