puke

1 of 2

verb

puked; puking; pukes

transitive + intransitive

informal : vomit entry 1
… the hideous smell, which … had made me hold my stomach and my breath sometimes, in an effort not to pukeOliver Sacks
'You Washington know-it-alls make me puke,' Quimper said, retiring from the conversation.James A. Michener
Sadly for Sam, sailing is not his strong suit, prompting him to puke his guts out all over the place.Josh Wigler
often used with up
Just puked up the cup of coffee I tried to down as my only form of nourishment.Hugh Gallagher
"Damn woman, first you puke up and then you catch an attitude."Hariette Surovell

puke

2 of 2

noun

plural pukes
1
informal : vomit
I remember there was always dog puke on the sidewalks in El Paso.Jayne Anne Phillips
The launch back was full of hung over sailors, and marines in even worse shape. It smelled of puke and piss from the night before.David Poyer
2
slang : a disgusting, unlikeable, or contemptible person
"… handles winning well, but when he gets in trouble, he behaves like a little puke."Mark Woodforde

Examples of puke in a Sentence

Verb the drunken reveler staggered out the door and promptly puked in the bushes
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Verb
In one scene, Tovmasyan’s character gets his nose broken and then pukes after taking painkillers. Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024 And, like, why isn’t someone puking or smashing stuff or collapsed drunk? Matt Thompson, SPIN, 18 Oct. 2024
Noun
More than an hour after Sunday’s game, fans were still squatting on random curbs and corners, trying to get home, picking their way through the puke in the tailgating lot, jostling with hundreds of others using ride-hailing services in a chaotic parking lot. Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 4 Dec. 2023 Woodall reciprocates with his own sweet snaps of Campbell on his Instagram account, including an October 2019 Halloween pic of the couple holding a jack-o-lantern with pumpkin seeds as pretend puke. Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 15 Aug. 2023 See all Example Sentences for puke 

Word History

Etymology

Verb

origin unknown

First Known Use

Verb

1601, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1705, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of puke was in 1601

Dictionary Entries Near puke

Cite this Entry

“Puke.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puke. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

puke

verb
puked; puking
informal
puke noun

More from Merriam-Webster on puke

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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