1. [n]  a sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow); "he warned me with a jab with his finger"; "he made a thrusting motion with his fist"
2. [n]  (boxing) a blow with the fist
3. [n]  a bag made of paper or plastic for holding customer's purchases
4. [n]  tall coarse perennial American herb having small white flowers followed by blackish-red berries on long drooping racemes; young fleshy stems are edible; berries and root are poisonous
5. [v]  poke or thrust abruptly; "he jabbed his finger into her ribs"
6. [v]  make a hole by poking
7. [v]  hit hard with the had, fist, or some heavy instrument; "the salesman pounded the door knocker"; "a bible-thumping Southern Baptist"
8. [v]  stir by poking; "poke the embers in the fireplace"
9. [v]  search or inquire in a meddlesome way; "This guy is always nosing around the office"

1. \Poke\, n. (Bot.)
   A large North American herb of the genus {Phytolacca} ({P.
   decandra}), bearing dark purple juicy berries; -- called also
   {garget}, {pigeon berry}, {pocan}, and {pokeweed}. The root
   and berries have emetic and purgative properties, and are
   used in medicine. The young shoots are sometimes eaten as a
   substitute for asparagus, and the berries are said to be used
   in Europe to color wine.
   

2. \Poke\, n. [AS. poca, poha, pohha; akin to Icel. poki, OD.
   poke, and perh. to E. pock; cf. also Gael. poca, and OF.
   poque. Cf. {Pock}, {Pocket}, {Pouch}.]
   1. A bag; a sack; a pocket. ``He drew a dial from his poke.''
      --Shak.
            They wallowed as pigs in a poke.      --Chaucer.
   2. A long, wide sleeve; -- called also {poke sleeve}.
   {To boy a pig a poke} (that is, in a bag), to buy a thing
      without knowledge or examination of it. --Camden.
   

3. \Poke\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Poked}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Poking}.] [Cf. LG. poken to prick, pierce, thrust, pok a
   dagger, knife, D. pook, G. pocken to beat, also Ir. poc a
   blow, Gael. puc to push.]
   1. To thrust or push against or into with anything pointed;
      hence, to stir up; to excite; as, to poke a fire.
            He poked John, and said ``Sleepest thou ?''
                                                  --Chaucer.
   2. To thrust with the horns; to gore.
   3. [From 5th {Poke}, 3.] To put a poke on; as, to poke an ox.
      [Colloq. U. S.]
   {To poke fun}, to excite fun; to joke; to jest. [Colloq.]
   {To poke fun at}, to make a butt of; to ridicule. [Colloq.]
   

4. \Poke\, v. i.
   To search; to feel one's way, as in the dark; to grope; as,
   to poke about.
         A man must have poked into Latin and Greek. --Prior.
   

5. \Poke\, n.
   1. The act of poking; a thrust; a jog; as, a poke in the
      ribs. --Ld. Lytton.
   2. A lazy person; a dawdler; also, a stupid or uninteresting
      person. [Slang, U.S.] --Bartlett.
   3. A contrivance to prevent an animal from leaping or
      breaking through fences. It consists of a yoke with a pole
      inserted, pointed forward. [U.S.]
   {Poke bonnet}, a bonnet with a straight, projecting front.
   

The BASIC command to write a value to an absolute address.

See peek.

[Jargon File]