Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

jerk

/ˈd͡ʒɜːk/ noun

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about jerk at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A sudden, often uncontrolled movement, especially of the human body.
A quick pull on something.
When I yell "OK," give the mooring line a good jerk!
A person with unlikable or obnoxious qualities and behavior, typically mean, immoral, self-centered, or disagreeable.
I finally fired him, because he was being a real jerk to his customers, even to some of the staff.

verb

To make a sudden uncontrolled movement.
To give a quick, often unpleasant tug or shake.
To masturbate.
This is jerking’s 9/11

noun

A rich, spicy Jamaican marinade.
Meat (or sometimes vegetables) cured by jerking, in which it is coated in spices and slow-cooked over a fire or grill traditionally composed of green pimento wood positioned over burning coals; charqui.
Jerk chicken is a local favorite.

verb

To cure (meat) by cutting it into strips and drying it, originally in the sun.

Origin

Probably from Middle English yerk (“sudden motion”) and Middle English yerkid (“tightly pulled”), from Old English ġearc (“ready, active, quick”) and Old English ġearcian (“to prepare, make ready, procure, furnish, supply”). Cognate with Scots yerk (“to jerk”). Related also to English yare (“ready”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word