HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
guide to the dictionary
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
The Panelists
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series!
Find out more!
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
poke1 (pōk)
Share:
v. poked, pok·ing, pokes
v.tr.
1. To push or jab at, as with a finger or an arm; prod.
2. To make (a hole or pathway, for example) by or as if by prodding, elbowing, or jabbing: I poked my way to the front of the crowd.
3. To push; thrust: A seal poked its head out of the water.
4. To stir (a fire) by prodding the wood or coal with a poker or stick.
5. Slang To strike; punch.
v.intr.
1. To make thrusts or jabs, as with a stick or poker.
2. To pry or meddle; intrude: poking into another's business.
3. To search or look curiously in a desultory manner: poked about in the desk.
4. To proceed in a slow or lazy manner; putter: just poked along all morning.
5. To thrust forward; appear: The child's head poked from under the blankets.
n.
1. A push, thrust, or jab.
2. Slang A punch or blow with the fist: a poke in the jaw.
3. One who moves slowly or aimlessly; a dawdler.
poke fun at
To ridicule in a mischievous manner.
[Middle English poken, probably from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
poke2 (pōk)
Share:
n.
1. A projecting brim at the front of a bonnet.
2. A large bonnet having a projecting brim.
[From POKE1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
poke3 (pōk)
Share:
n.
Chiefly Southern US
A sack; a bag.
[Middle English, probably from Old North French; see POCKET.]
Word History: A pig in a poke is a colorful vernacular expression used to describe something offered in a manner that conceals its true nature or value. Naturally, a buyer cannot inspect the pig if it is covered by a poke—that is, a bag or sack. The word poke meaning "bag" is not confined to just the American South—in many parts of Scotland, poke bag is still used of a little paper bag for carrying purchases like candy. Poke first appears in English in the 1200s and probably comes from Old North French, the northern dialect of Old French. The Old North French word in turn is probably of Germanic origin and is related to words like Icelandic poki, "bag." Poke has several relatives within English. The word pocket comes from Middle English poket, meaning "pouch, small bag," which in turn comes from Anglo-Norman pokete, a diminutive of Old North French poke. Pouche, a variant form of Old North French poke, is the source of the English word pouch.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
poke4 (pōk)
Share:
n.
Pokeweed.
[Short for dialectal pocan, of Virginia Algonquian origin; akin to PUCCOON.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
po·ke5 (pō-kā)
Share:
n.
A Hawaiian salad or appetizer traditionally consisting of cubed raw fish, often yellowfin tuna, that is marinated in soy sauce and sesame oil, and mixed with diced onions, sesame seeds, and ginger.
[Hawaiian English, from Hawaiian poke, to cut crosswise into pieces, a slice.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
Semitic Roots
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
