Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

poke

1 verb
     
poke1
1

with a finger/stick etc

[intransitive and transitive] to quickly push your finger or some other pointed object into something or someone
poke somebody/something with something
Andy poked the fish with his finger to see if it was still alive.
poke somebody in the eye/arm/ribs etc
Be careful with that umbrella or you'll poke someone in the eye.
poke at
He was poking at the dust with a stick, making little patterns.
2

through a space/hole

[transitive always + adverb/preposition] to move or push something through a space or opening
poke something in/into/through something
He poked a hand into one of his pockets.
One of the nurses poked her head around the door.
3

be seen

[intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if something is poking through or out of something else, you can see part of it but not all of it
poke out
Ella looked at the tiny face poking out of the blanket.
poke through
Weeds had started poking through the cracks in the patio.
4

poke a hole

to make a hole or hollow area in something by pushing something pointed into or through it
poke a hole into/in/through
Poke a hole in the dough, and then form it into a rounded shape.
5

poke holes in something

to find mistakes or problems in a plan or in what someone has said:
Defense attorneys tried to poke holes in Rodger's story.
6

poke fun at somebody

to make fun of someone in an unkind way:
Some of the kids were poking fun at Judy because of the way she was dressed.
7

poke your nose into something

informal to take an interest or get involved in someone else's private affairs, in a way that annoys them:
I'm sick of your mother poking her nose into our marriage.
8

poke the fire

to move coal or wood in a fire with a stick to make it burn better
9

sex

[transitive] spoken not polite to have sex with a woman

poke along

phrasal verb
to move very slowly:
He kept the car in the slow lane, poking along at about 40 miles an hour.

poke around

phrasal verb
1 to look for something, especially by moving a lot of things around
poke around in
James began poking about in the cupboard, looking for the sugar.
2 to try to find out information about other people's private lives, business etc, in a way that annoys them
poke around in
Stop poking around in my business!
3

poke around (something)

to spend time in shops, markets etc looking at nothing in particular [= browse]:
I spent Sunday afternoon poking around an old bookshop.

poke into something

phrasal verb
to try to find out information about other people's private lives, business etc, in a way that annoys them
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
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