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Glite Dictionary
👉 To prod 🕵️ To meddle 💻 To nudge online 💻 An online nudge 🥊 A punch 👈 A quick prod 🌿 A wild plant 🐢 A slow person 🛍️ A bag
to poke

to poke

124 6.7
Try to find out about someone's private life
  • verb
  • /poʊk/
  • Informal
translation icon : fisgonear
  • Are you poking fun at me?
  • poke around

Some people will poke at me and say, well, what do you want?

Examples

  • No, I was just poking around.

    Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

  • I can't imagine why you'd want me poking around in your business.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • I was wondering if I could come in and just poke around.

    Sideways (2004)

  • Even when the clerk tried to poke him into saying something, he still said nothing.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Dave Palmer has been poking his nose into my business.

    The Phantom (1996)

  • In fact, you go out there poking around, asking a bunch of questions, it could be downright dangerous for you, sir.

    Midnight (2020)

  • Such criticism led the government to accuse businesses of poking their noses in politics.

    Academic text (2003)

  • If you don't go poking your nose where it doesn't belong, you'll be fine.

    Late Checkout (2023)

  • N4: Back at the house, Jonah pokes around in Steve's workshop.

    Academic text (2010)

  • She was always poking into my affairs, asking questions that were none of her business.

Synonyms

to intrude
vsto poke
105 4.4

To go into a place or conversation where you are not welcome

is about unwanted questioning or searching rather than physical presence
to pry
vsto poke
66 5.3

Try to learn about someone's private life in an impolite way

is the same probing action but may be less focused on privacy
to badger
vsto poke
39 4.7

To annoy someone by asking them the same thing many times

is similarly bothersome but often without the specific aim of asking questions
to pester
vsto poke
34 3.2

To annoy someone by asking for things again and again

is annoyance that may involve asking but lacks the clear searching intent
to pump
vsto poke
18 7.4

Ask someone many questions to get information

is also intrusive but focuses more on one-off or casual prying
to nose
vsto poke
  • Informal
17 7.7

To try to find out private things about someone by looking or asking

is similarly meddlesome but can apply to any unwanted questioning
to pry into
vsto poke
  • Informal
8 7.2

Try to find out private things about someone in an annoying way

is equally intrusive but may cover general unwanted searching, not only private matters
to horn in
vsto poke
  • Informal
5 8.2

To join a conversation or activity without being invited

is similar interference but centres more on asking or snooping
to poke one's nose into
vsto poke
  • Informal
1 7.3

To try to take part in other people's business without being asked

is the same intrusion but focused on asking or searching rather than acting
to pry into someone's business
vsto poke
  • Informal
1 7.5

To try to find out private things about someone without their permission

is similar but can also mean casual or brief unwanted questioning
to poke into
vsto poke
  • Informal
1 5.2

To go into a place for a short time to look around

is more about intrusive questioning rather than just brief physical entry

Idioms

to poke the bear
  • Informal
3 8.4

To do something on purpose to make an angry or dangerous person react

to poke someone's eye out
  • Informal
1 7.9

Hurt someone's eye by hitting it with a sharp object

to buy a pig in a poke
  • Informal
1 9.9

To buy something without checking it first and risk being cheated

a poke in the eye with a sharp stick
  • Informal
9.9

A joking way to say something is very unpleasant or painful

Phrasal Verbs

to poke fun
  • Offensive
25 3.9

To make jokes about someone to make them look silly

to poke fun at
  • Offensive
23 3.4

To make jokes about someone, sometimes to be playful and sometimes to be unkind

to poke out
16 3.5

To stick out from something like a wall or table

to poke at
9 2.5

Push gently at something or someone with a finger

to poke holes in
  • Informal
5 4.3

To find and show weak points in an idea or plan

to poke into
  • Informal
1 5.1

To look closely at something by touching or prodding it

to poke one's nose into
  • Informal
1 7.3

To try to take part in other people's business without being asked

to poke in the ribs
  • Informal
1 6.0

Push someone's side with a finger to get their attention or make them laugh

to poke into
  • Informal
1 5.2

To go into a place for a short time to look around

to poke one's head
4.6

To put your head forward through an opening to look

Compounds

Indian poke
  • US
9.9

A poisonous plant with large leaves and greenish yellow flower clusters that people use in traditional medicine

Indian poke
  • Indian
9.9

A plant from southeast Asia and China that has berries that can be poisonous

poke bonnet
  • Archaic
9.9

A woman's hat with a wide brim at the front that ties under the chin

poke check
  • Specialized
8.2

A quick push with a hockey stick that knocks the puck away from an opponent

poke milkweed
  • US
9.5

A milkweed plant from eastern North America with white and green flowers that grows in shady woods

How Intrusive

to pry
66 5.3
to poke
  • Informal
124 6.7
to peek
119 1.1
to observe
619 2.4

Surface Forms

poke infinitive
poked past
poked past participle
poking present participle
pokes third person singular

Etymology

Poke meaning to pry or search around comes from the image of pushing or prodding into places; to 'poke around' is to prod into things, which is why it feels intrusive or nosy.