From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_264_cpokepoke1 /pəʊk $ poʊk/ ●●○ verb 1 with a finger/stick etc [intransitive, transitive]PUSH to quickly push your finger or some other pointed object into something or someonepoke somebody/something with something Andy poked the fish with his finger to see if it was still alive.poke somebody in the eye/arm/ribs etc Be careful with that umbrella or you’ll poke someone in the eye.poke at He was poking at the dust with a stick, making little patterns.► see thesaurus at push2 through a space/hole [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to move or push something through a space or openingpoke something in/into/through something He poked a hand into one of his pockets. One of the nurses poked her head around the door.3 be seen [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if something is poking through or out of something else, you can see part of it but not all of itpoke out Ella looked at the tiny face poking out of the blanket.poke through Weeds had started poking through the cracks in the patio.4 → poke a hole5 → poke holes in something6 → poke fun at somebody7 → poke your nose into something8 → poke the fire9 on the Internet [transitive] to show someone on a social networking site that you want to communicate with them10 sex [transitive] spoken not politeSEX/HAVE SEX WITH to have sex with a woman → poke along → poke around → poke into something→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
poke• By its light, he poked around in the charred remains of the nestboxes.• I shan't inspect the harness, I shan't poke around the stables.• It's time you scrapped your overwritten early loves and learned to poke fun at the real thing.• Sherman poked his camera through the curtains.• Someone poked me in the eye during basketball practice.• Careful with that stick! You nearly poked me in the eye.• I poked my head under the dripping awning of a newsstand and asked the proprietor.• The boys poked the fish with sticks to see if it was still alive• Instead, they stayed inside and poked their arms through the bars for their food, just out of reach.• With wet clothes clinging to her back, she looked skeletal, her shoulder blades poking up like sharp crags.• The muzzle of a gun poked up - would they be caught in crossfire?poke at• Keillor is known for his fond pokes at small-town America.poked ... head• The women poked in their heads from time to time to take a look at me.• Sometimes Carl poked his head in the garage as Lyle stood at the side of his dead pal.• Then he poked his head out from the covers to listen.• Dad poked his head round the door to see what was going on and to ask if I'd seen Mum.• Seconds later he poked his head through the doorway and beckoned.• Nick poked his head up from the blanket and looked around.• I forgot to ask on Sunday if anything has poked its head up in my perennial bed.• They barely gave me a nod when I poked my head up over the side of the truck.poke out• I looked across the street and saw Mike's head poking out above the fence.• A young doctor poked his head out, and called me into the examination room.• He poked out his tongue and looked at it carefully in the mirror.• The first snowdrops poked out through the frozen ground.pokepoke2 noun [countable] 1 → give somebody/something a poke2 American English informal a criticism of someone or something Bennett took a poke at the president’s refusal to sign the bill.3 the act of showing someone on a social networking site that you want to communicate with themExamples from the Corpus
poke• I gave dad a poke to wake him up.took a poke at• Bennet took a poke at the President's recent refusal to sign the bill. 