as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
joked about the time he passed out on the street and woke up in the pokey
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pokey
This pokey lime green plant is a bit of a chameleon, changing colour when stressed by lack of water or bad weather.
—
Katy Kelleher, refinery29.com, 29 July 2024
Calvin Klein’s racerback bralette is made from ultra-soft and stretch-infused cotton for optimal breathability, and it’s designed without pokey underwires, too.
—Emily Weaver, Peoplemag, 27 July 2024
The Embraceable Bra provides the support of underwire cups without an uncomfortably firm or pokey feeling.
—Theresa Holland, Travel + Leisure, 15 Dec. 2023
Dropping the hammer from a stop gets it to 60 mph in just 4.1 seconds, which opens plenty of opportunities for maneuvering around traffic's pokey dullards.
—Austin Irwin, Car and Driver, 31 May 2023
See All Example Sentences for pokey
Katy Kelleher, refinery29.com, 29 July 2024
Calvin Klein’s racerback bralette is made from ultra-soft and stretch-infused cotton for optimal breathability, and it’s designed without pokey underwires, too.
—Emily Weaver, Peoplemag, 27 July 2024
The Embraceable Bra provides the support of underwire cups without an uncomfortably firm or pokey feeling.
—Theresa Holland, Travel + Leisure, 15 Dec. 2023
Dropping the hammer from a stop gets it to 60 mph in just 4.1 seconds, which opens plenty of opportunities for maneuvering around traffic's pokey dullards.
—Austin Irwin, Car and Driver, 31 May 2023
See All Example Sentences for pokey
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pokey
Noun
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In that case, a man incarcerated in a local jail filed a complaint with CLERB alleging that deputies damaged his personal property and mishandled legal documents during a cell search.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 May 2025
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Kerik, an Army veteran, rose to the pinnacle of law enforcement before a fall so steep that even a city jail named after him was renamed.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
30 May 2025
Noun
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He was convicted again about a decade later and sentenced to more time in prison.—
Lisa Hagen,
Hartford Courant,
31 May 2025
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But Hoover will remain in prison, serving a 200-year sentence for his state court conviction for murder.—
Claire Malon,
Chicago Tribune,
31 May 2025
Noun
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He was freed on parole from the Terre Haute, Indiana, federal penitentiary on Nov. 30, 1948, after serving 32 months of his five-year prison sentence.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
28 May 2025
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However, he was sent back to the high-security prison in 1962 and stayed there until he was transferred to the federal penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
6 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pokey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pokey. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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