| / English Dictionary |
POKEY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A correctional institution used to detain persons who are in the lawful custody of the government (either accused persons awaiting trial or convicted persons serving a sentence)
Synonyms:
clink; gaol; jail; jailhouse; pokey; poky; slammer
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("pokey" is a kind of...):
correctional institution (a penal institution maintained by the government)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pokey"):
bastille (a jail or prison (especially one that is run in a tyrannical manner))
holding cell (a jail in a courthouse where accused persons can be confined during a trial)
hoosegow; hoosgow (slang for a jail)
house of correction ((formerly) a jail or other place of detention for persons convicted of minor offences)
lockup (jail in a local police station)
workhouse (a county jail that holds prisoners for periods up to 18 months)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Small and remote and insignificant
Example:
passed a series of poky little one-horse towns
Synonyms:
jerkwater; one-horse; pokey; poky
Classified under:
Similar:
provincial (characteristic of the provinces or their people)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Wasting time
Synonyms:
dilatory; laggard; pokey; poky
Classified under:
Similar:
slow (not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time)
Derivation:
poke (someone who takes more time than necessary; someone who lags behind)
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