From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishjerkyjerk‧y1 /ˈdʒɜːki $ -ɜːr-/ adjective SUDDENLYjerky movements are rough, with many starts and stops OPP smooth His skin was dry and hot, his breathing rapid and jerky. The bus came to a jerky halt. —jerkily adverb —jerkiness noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
jerky• To compensate for this, they move their heads in a jerky fashion.• Habitually swims, with jerky forward movement; sometimes dives.• jerky guys• the jerky motion of old movies• On no account should they be pushed straight up or in a jerky movement.• A firm, steady pressure should be applied - avoid jerky movements.• Make irregular pulls, and the kite will respond with similar jerky movements.• Sea water leaked from his mouth, his breath gasped in jerky spasms.jerkyjerky2 noun [uncountable] American EnglishDFF meat that has been cut into thin pieces and dried in the sun or with smokeOrigin jerky1 (1800-1900) → JERK2 jerky2 (1800-1900) American Spanish charqui, from Quechua ch'arki 