From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishjoltjolt1 /dʒəʊlt $ dʒoʊlt/ verb 1 [intransitive, transitive]SHAKE to move suddenly and roughly, or to make someone or something move in this way SYN jerk We jolted along rough wet roads through an endless banana plantation.2 [transitive]SHOCK to give someone a sudden shock or surprise The phone jolted him awake.jolt somebody into/out of something It jolted me into making the decision to quit. Her sharp words seemed to jolt him out of his depression.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
jolt• Our coach jolted and stopped. Then it started again.• Vic was jolted awake by at least five explosions.• Long before morning, she was jolted awake by sounds outside her room.• Only to have your memory jolted by a loud and indignant beep.• He ran down the hill, the backpack jolting from side to side on his back.• Second, the other Lakers will be jolted from their funk by the appearance of Magic.• He thought it was a twig breaking but then something jolted his memory.• My lurching heart jolts me awake.• The car jolted over the rubble past a machine, and the panic ceased.• It was not the phone that jolted Polly so completely from her dreams, but fear.• Their house had been jolted right off its foundation.• Everyone was alarmed when the elevator jolted to a halt.• Father Gannon added, his sudden pronged laughter jolting up her spine.joltjolt2 noun [countable usually singular] 1 SHOCKa sudden shockjolt of Melanie experienced a jolt of surprise.with a jolt Henry sat up with a jolt. The oil crisis has given the government quite a jolt.2 SHAKEa sudden rough shaking movement People felt the first jolt of the earthquake at about 8 am.Examples from the Corpus
jolt• The query seems like a jolt of reality, following stories Mrs Clinton has been telling of her college days.• Her accusation in front of her family had made him coldly furious, she realised with a jolt.• With a jolt of self-knowledge Caroline registered the same feeling of dismay as at that cool withdrawal after their picnic.• a jolt of caffeine• He longed for each ice-cold burning jolt in his stomach.• The world economy was given a deflationary jolt.• electric jolts• But in a way what happened last season gave us a necessary jolt.• The tax laws may be a severe jolt to the economy.• What is in some ways ironic is that a naive notion of necessity had already received a severe jolt from David Hume.• The train stopped with a sudden jolt.• But then, recovering from the jolt, he begins to think not.given ... a jolt• Each of us carries an unreliable ankle for instance, and Tony had just given his a jolt.• The world economy was given a deflationary jolt.From Longman Business Dictionaryjoltjolt1 /dʒəʊltdʒoʊlt/ noun [countable] a shock that causes prices and markets to change suddenlyMany companies got a jolt from the attempted coup.The crisis gave a jolt to the world energy markets.joltjolt2 verb [transitive] to give a sudden shock to a person, company, or marketTraders were jolted yesterday by reports warning of recession.The eruption of war in the Middle East jolted the world’s financial markets.→ See Verb tableOrigin jolt1 (1500-1600) Perhaps from joll “to hit” ((15-19 centuries)) + jot “to knock against” ((16-19 centuries)) 