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Glite Dictionary
🔍 To investigate 🚪 To enter briefly
to poke into

to poke into

1 5.2
To go into a place for a short time to look around
  • phrasal verb
  • /poʊk ˈɪntu/
  • Informal
translation icon : asomarse a
  • I was deep into a set of fractions when Kami knocked on the door and anxiously poked her head into the room.
  • poked her head into
  • poked her head into the room
  • poking their noses into

Examples

  • The Satterthwaites poked their heads into the room.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • That is, at least until you actually poke your head into any of the actual workspaces.

  • I poke my head into the living room to tell Jack that I'll be a second.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • T. tried the door handle; it turned; he pushed the door open just wide enough for him to poke his head into another world!

    Fiction book (1998)

  • She poked her head into the bathroom off the hall.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • She poked her head into the bathroom.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • "It's time for supper," my mother announces as she pokes her head into my bedroom.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • So I poke my head into Judge's tiny shack between clients.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • About an hour later, while I was repositioning a postoperative patient down the hall, a lab technician poked her head into the room.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • I poke into the kitchen to see if dinner is ready.

Synonyms

to walk in
vsto poke into
396 1.6

To enter a room or building by walking without knocking

is a brief casual entry usually driven by curiosity
to pop in
vsto poke into
  • Informal
25 3.4

To make a short informal visit to a place

is a short casual entry done mainly out of curiosity
to pop into
vsto poke into
  • Informal
9 4.1

Visit a place for a short time, often without planning

is a quick casual entry often motivated by curiosity
to poke one's head
vsto poke into
4.6

To put your head forward through an opening to look

is brief entry into a place out of casual curiosity rather than peeking

Antonyms

to avoid
∞ 1.0

To stay away from something or not do it to stop something bad from happening

to keep out
31 1.0

To stay outside a place and not go in

How Long

to stay
∞ 1.0
visit
∞ 1.0
to poke into
  • Informal
1 5.2
to pop in
  • Informal
25 3.4
to peek
119 1.1

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

poke + into

Combining 'poke' (to prod or pry) with the preposition 'into' readily suggests intruding or looking inside something, so a learner who knows both words will often infer a sense of nosing or prying into a place or matter. However, the specific conversational nuance of meddling briefly/out of curiosity (and its directional metaphorical use) is a metaphorical extension not fully predictable from the parts for all learners, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The phrasal verb poke into comes from the picture of someone pushing their head or hand to poke into a room or shop to look quickly. That's why poke into now means to 'enter briefly' or look around out of curiosity.