poke¹ / pōk/ • v. 1. [tr.] jab or prod (someone or something), esp. with one's finger: he poked Benny in the ribs and pointed | [intr.] they sniffed, felt, and poked at everything they bought. ∎  [tr.] jab (one's finger) at someone or into something: keep adding water until you can comfortably poke your finger into the soil. ∎  prod and stir (a fire) with a poker to make it burn more fiercely. ∎  make (a hole) in something by prodding or jabbing at it. ∎  [tr.] thrust (something) in a particular direction: I poked my head around the door to see what was going on she poked her tongue out. ∎  [intr.] protrude and be or become visible: she had wisps of gray hair poking out from under her bonnet. ∎ vulgar slang (of a man) have sexual intercourse with (another person).2. [intr.] move slowly; dawdle: I was poking along, my vision blocked by that curtain of sleet.• n. 1. an act of poking someone or something: she gave the fire a poke. ∎  (a poke around) inf. a look or search around a place. ∎ vulgar slang an act of sexual intercourse.2. (also poke bonnet) a woman's bonnet with a projecting brim or front, popular esp. in the early 19th century.3. (usu. POKE) Comput. a statement or function in BASIC for altering the contents of a specified memory location. Compare with peek (sense 2).PHRASES: poke fun at tease or make fun of.poke one's nose into inf. take an intrusive interest in.take a poke at someone inf. hit or punch someone. ∎  criticize someone.PHRASAL VERBS: poke around/about look around a place, typically in search of something.poke² • n. dial. a bag or small sack. ∎ inf. a purse or wallet.PHRASES: a pig in a pokesee pig.poke³ • n. 1. another term for pokeweed. 2. (Indian poke) another term for false hellebore.

poke2 thrust with the finger or a pointed instrument. XIV. — (M)LG., (M)Du. poken, of unkn. orig.
Hence (prob.) poke sb. projecting brim of a bonnet. XVIII(so poke-bonnet XIX). poker¹ (-ER1) instrument for poking a fire. XVI.

poke To modify the contents of an absolute memory location from a high-level language, usually by means of a procedure of this name whose two arguments are the address in question and the value to be deposited there. Compare peek.

poke1 bag, small sack (now dial. except in ‘to buy a pig in a poke’). XIII. — ONF. poque, poke, var. of (O)F. poche (cf. POUCH).

Poke

a bag containing a definite amount which varied according to the commodity.

Examples : poke of bran, 1875; of corn, 1648; of hops, 1883; of madder (20 cwt), 1347; of silver, 1733; of pardon, 1377; of pence, 1575; of plums, 1581; of wool, c. 1500.