poky
poky Lexical Profile
poky Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
British (of a room or building) uncomfortably small, cramped, and shabby.
"They spent their first year of marriage living in a poky little flat above a bakery."
North American Annoyingly slow; dawdling or sluggish.
"The poky commuter train took nearly two hours to travel thirty miles."
• noun
North American (informal, usually 'the poky' or 'the pokey') A jail or prison.
"He spent the night in the poky after causing a disturbance outside the tavern."
Word Nuance & Usage
Also commonly spelled 'pokey'. In British English, the adjective usually describes a cramped, dingy room, whereas in American English it primarily means annoyingly slow.
• Rhymes for poky
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the early 19th century from the verb 'poke' (in the sense of poking about in confined spaces or dawdling) plus the adjectival suffix '-y'.