as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
joked about the time he passed out on the street and woke up in the pokey
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Recent Examples of pokey
There are reasons people are afraid of the dentist; all of those pokey instruments going into soft, sensitive places.
—
Erin Qualey, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
Thirty-three years since its founder began cutting up fabrics in a pokey South London flat, the house of McQueen’s headquarters now inhabit a six-story, 30,000-square-foot building in London’s Clerkenwell.
—Hayley Maitland, Vogue, 16 Dec. 2024
This pokey lime green plant is a bit of a chameleon, changing colour when stressed by lack of water or bad weather.
—Katy Kelleher, refinery29.com, 29 July 2024
Calvin Klein’s racerback bralette is made from ultra-soft and stretch-infused cotton for optimal breathability, and it’s designed without pokey underwires, too.
—Emily Weaver, Peoplemag, 27 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for pokey
Erin Qualey, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
Thirty-three years since its founder began cutting up fabrics in a pokey South London flat, the house of McQueen’s headquarters now inhabit a six-story, 30,000-square-foot building in London’s Clerkenwell.
—Hayley Maitland, Vogue, 16 Dec. 2024
This pokey lime green plant is a bit of a chameleon, changing colour when stressed by lack of water or bad weather.
—Katy Kelleher, refinery29.com, 29 July 2024
Calvin Klein’s racerback bralette is made from ultra-soft and stretch-infused cotton for optimal breathability, and it’s designed without pokey underwires, too.
—Emily Weaver, Peoplemag, 27 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for pokey
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pokey
Noun
-
The Associated Press in 2021 investigated how the technology landed a Chicago grandfather in jail after it was used as evidence to charge him with murder, with a judge later dismissing the case due to insufficient evidence.—
R. Christian Smith,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Aug. 2025
-
Last year, Estrada was already in county jail for unrelated reasons when he was arrested on suspicion of Coriz’s murder.—
City News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
He was sentenced to a term of five months to 20 years in prison and ordered to be removed to Laos in 2007.—
Niraj Warikoo,
Freep.com,
9 Aug. 2025
-
After pleading guilty, Lewis was sentenced to 2½ years in prison in addition to a no-contact order that bans him from Fever games and facilities.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Aug. 2025
Noun
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At the beloved attraction in San Francisco Bay, visitors could scarcely believe President Trump had suggested turning Alcatraz back into a penitentiary.—
Heather Knight,
New York Times,
6 May 2025
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In the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, a Russian glide bomb attack on a local penitentiary killed 17 inmates and wounded more than 80 others in one of the deadliest strikes in the region to date.—
Katya Soldak,
Forbes.com,
31 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pokey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pokey. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
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