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
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
Sir Paul Smith, one of London’s most respected menswear designers and tailors, started his eponymous label in a pokey shop in Nottingham in 1970 but now has 130 boutiques and counting across the globe.
—Mario Abad, Robb Report, 26 May 2023
That harks back to the stagecoach or pokey train eras when a governor could be incommunicado for days or weeks.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for pokey
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
Sir Paul Smith, one of London’s most respected menswear designers and tailors, started his eponymous label in a pokey shop in Nottingham in 1970 but now has 130 boutiques and counting across the globe.
—Mario Abad, Robb Report, 26 May 2023
That harks back to the stagecoach or pokey train eras when a governor could be incommunicado for days or weeks.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for pokey
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pokey
Noun
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Last June, surveillance footage of Chop fighting a man in jail leaked.—
Andre Gee,
Rolling Stone,
24 Feb. 2025
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Denver Broncos linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite was arrested in Denver on a charge of second-degree assault on a peace officer on Sunday, jail records showed.—
Ryan Gaydos,
Fox News,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
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In 2018, President Trump commuted the prison sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, who had served 22 years for drug trafficking and money laundering charges.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA TODAY,
25 Feb. 2025
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Separated from his regiment in the fighting, Thomas was captured by the enemy but has tunneled his way out of prison.—
Julia M. Klein,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Lamberth also noted that there are only about 16 transgender women housed in female penitentiaries, including the three plaintiffs who sued.—
Anders Fogh Rasmussen,
Newsweek,
5 Feb. 2025
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In 2015, Ulbricht was handed a life sentence for his involvement in the enterprise and is currently incarcerated at a high-security penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona.—
Kristen Waggoner,
Newsweek,
21 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pokey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pokey. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.
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