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.
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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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Another major focus of the trial was Allen's multiple confessions in jail and his mental health at the time.Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 20 Dec. 2024
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Also, jail doesn’t mean that the taxes are forgiven.Shelby Stewart, Essence, 20 Dec. 2024
Noun
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His sister is still seeking answers after the investigation found insufficient evidence to put the person responsible in prison.Craig Shoup, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024
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She was sentenced in June of this year to one year in prison for underreporting and failing to file federal income taxes.Jim Talamonti | The Center Square contributor, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 20 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The state penitentiary in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota recently expanded its transitional care unit to meet the needs of its aging population.Tom Chiodo, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
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Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Hollinger’s affairs proved to be a total mess: Black was later convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice and spent more than three years in a federal penitentiary.Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near pokey
Cite this Entry
“Pokey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pokey. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
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