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
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
Image: Cornell The researchers equipped their prototype robot with two different kinds of texture units: Goosebumps, which form rounded domes when inflated, and spikes, which include rigid little pokey bits.
—IEEE Spectrum, 16 May 2018
See All Example Sentences for pokey
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
Image: Cornell The researchers equipped their prototype robot with two different kinds of texture units: Goosebumps, which form rounded domes when inflated, and spikes, which include rigid little pokey bits.
—IEEE Spectrum, 16 May 2018
See All Example Sentences for pokey
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pokey
Noun
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Now, there's no possibility a bar owner will lose their license or face jail time.—
Hope Karnopp,
jsonline.com,
27 Oct. 2025
-
The prosecution opposed the request, arguing that jail clothing assists with safety and identification.—
Jenna Sundel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Sylvester Stallone has an unexpected pick for which of his films shouldn't be sentenced to cryo-prison.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
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He was sentenced to life in prison without parole that July, per the Detroit Free Press.—
Kelsey Lentz,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Portlaoise Prison, which is in the center of Ireland, is a nineteenth-century penitentiary built like a fortress—a one-star establishment, at best.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
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If found guilty of a level 5 felony, Sanchez could be imprisoned anywhere from one to six years at an Indiana penitentiary and fined up to $10,000, according to the Indiana Code.—
Jade Jackson,
IndyStar,
12 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pokey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pokey. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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