jerk
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Etymology 1
Possibly from Middle English yerk (“‘sudden motion’”)
[edit] Noun
|
Singular |
Plural |
jerk (plural jerks)
- A sudden, often uncontrolled movement, especially of the body.
- A quick, often unpleasant tug or shake.
- When I yell "OK," give the mooring line a good jerk!
- (US, slang, pejorative) A person with unlikable or obnoxious qualities and behavior, typically mean, self-centered or disagreeable, and often not very intelligent.
- I finally fired him, because he was being a real jerk to his customers, even to some of the staff.
- You really are a jerk sometimes.
- (physics, engineering) The rate of change in acceleration with respect to time.
[edit] Usage notes
- Jerk is measured in metres per second cubed (m/s3) in SI units , or in feet per second cubed (ft/s3) in imperial units.
[edit] Synonyms
- (sudden movement): jolt, lurch, jump
- (quick tug): yank
- (unlikable person): asshole, bastard.
- (physics, change in acceleration): jolt (British), surge, lurch
[edit] See also
[edit] Translations
A quick, often unpleasant tug or shake
A sudden, uncontrolled movement, for instance, of the body
A person, usually male, who is unwelcome due to unlikable qualities and behavior
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
|
[edit] Verb
|
Infinitive |
Third person singular |
Simple past |
Past participle |
Present participle |
to jerk (third-person singular simple present jerks, present participle jerking, simple past and past participle jerked)
- (intransitive) To make a sudden uncontrolled movement.
- (transitive) To give a quick, often unpleasant tug or shake.
- (British, slang, vulgar) To masturbate.
- (obsolete) To beat, to hit.
- (obsolete) To throw.
[edit] Translations
To make a sudden uncontrolled movement
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
|
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Etymology 2
From American Spanish charquear, from charqui, from Quechuan echarqui (“‘strips of dried flesh’”).
[edit] Noun
|
Singular |
Plural |
jerk (uncountable)
- (Caribbean) A rich, spicy Jamaican marinade
- (Caribbean) Meat cured by jerking; charqui.
- Jerk chicken is a local favorite.
[edit] Translations
A rich, spicy Jamaican marinade; a dish made with such a marinade
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Verb
|
Infinitive |
Third person singular |
Simple past |
Past participle |
Present participle |
to jerk (third-person singular simple present jerks, present participle jerking, simple past and past participle jerked)
- To cure (meat) by cutting it into strips and drying it, originally in the sun.
[edit] Translations
To marinade in jerk seasoning
[edit] French
[edit] Etymology
From English
[edit] Noun
jerk m. (plural jerks)
- jerk (dance)
Categories: Middle English derivations | English nouns | American English | Slang | Pejoratives | Physics | Engineering | English verbs | British English | Vulgarities | Obsolete | Spanish derivations | Quechuan derivations | Caribbean English | English words with multiple etymologies | fr:English derivations | French nouns | French masculine nouns | fr:Dances