Meaning of jerk in English

Table of contents

Verb
jerk
Definitions
1. pull, or move with a sudden movement
Examples
- « He turned the handle and jerked the door open »
Derived terms
2. move with abrupt, seemingly uncontrolled motions
Examples
- « The patient's legs were jerkings »
Derived terms
3. make an uncontrolled, short, jerky motion
Examples
- « his face is twitching »
Derived terms
4. jump vertically, with legs stiff and back arched
Examples
- « the yung filly bucked »
Derived terms
5. throw or toss with a quick motion
Examples
- « flick a piece of paper across the table »
- « jerk his head »
Derived terms
Noun
jerk
Etymology
mid 16th century (denoting a stroke with a whip): probably imitative
Definitions
1. a dull stupid fatuous person
2. an abrupt spasmodic movement
Derived terms
- buck
- flick
- hitch
- jar
- jolt
- twitch
- yank
3. (mechanics) the rate of change of velocity
4. a sudden abrupt pull
Derived terms

Famous quotes

« Movies always are open to being remade because times change so much, and the tempo of movies changes. I think of it like a James Bond. They can have different actors play the same role... I've had people come up to me and say, 'We want to remake 'The Jerk' with so and so.' And I say, 'Fine.' It just doesn't bother me. It's an honor actually. »
Steve Martin
« I think that everybody in the world, whatever colour or creed, has a jerk like JR in his or her family somewhere. Whether it is a father, uncle, cousin or brother, everybody can identify with JR and that certainly had something to do with the success of 'Dallas.' »
Larry Hagman
« I'm not a knee-jerk conservative. I passionately believe in free markets and less government, but not to the point of being a libertarian. »
Rupert Murdoch
« It never made sense to me that someone would achieve any kind of success in show business, only to become a jerk. »
Josh Radnor
« If a jerk burns the flag, America is not threatened, democracy is not under siege, freedom is not at risk. »
Gary Ackerman