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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Recent Examples of pokey
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
One reason entanglement is exciting is the potential to drive quantum computers that make today's best look pokey by comparison, like so:
Quantum computers exploit the inherent uncertainties of quantum physics to perform calculations much faster than computers currently in use.
—Andrew Moseman, Discover Magazine, 19 Nov. 2019
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
Emily Weaver, Peoplemag, 27 July 2024
One reason entanglement is exciting is the potential to drive quantum computers that make today's best look pokey by comparison, like so:
Quantum computers exploit the inherent uncertainties of quantum physics to perform calculations much faster than computers currently in use.
—Andrew Moseman, Discover Magazine, 19 Nov. 2019
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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However, on March 27, a paperwork error allowed Guzman to walk out of the Clayton County jail a free man.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
10 Apr. 2025
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In the photo, Sada is dressed in an orange jail uniform while his expression consists of wide eyes and a stiff grin.—
Regina Cho,
VIBE.com,
9 Apr. 2025
Noun
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His lawyers said Mahdi's original attorneys put on a shallow case trying to spare his life that didn't call on relatives, teachers or others who knew him and ignored the impact of months spent in solitary confinement in prison as a teen.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2025
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Alexander Smirnov was sentenced to six years in prison in January after pleading guilty to lying to his FBI handler about the Biden family's ties to a Ukrainian energy company -- in addition to a series of unrelated tax fraud charges.—
Alexander Mallin,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The money will help sustain El Salvador’s penitentiary system, which currently costs $200 million a year.—
Michael Rios,
CNN,
17 Mar. 2025
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In Oklahoma, 56-year-old Wendell Grissom was declared dead by lethal injection at the penitentiary in McAlester at 10:13 a.m.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pokey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pokey. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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