puke

1 of 2

verb

puked; puking; pukes

transitive + intransitive

informal : vomit entry 1
… the hideous smell, which … had made me hold my stomach and my breath sometimes, in an effort not to pukeOliver Sacks
'You Washington know-it-alls make me puke,' Quimper said, retiring from the conversation.James A. Michener
Sadly for Sam, sailing is not his strong suit, prompting him to puke his guts out all over the place.Josh Wigler
often used with up
Just puked up the cup of coffee I tried to down as my only form of nourishment.Hugh Gallagher
"Damn woman, first you puke up and then you catch an attitude."Hariette Surovell

puke

2 of 2

noun

plural pukes
1
informal : vomit
I remember there was always dog puke on the sidewalks in El Paso.Jayne Anne Phillips
The launch back was full of hung over sailors, and marines in even worse shape. It smelled of puke and piss from the night before.David Poyer
2
slang : a disgusting, unlikeable, or contemptible person
"… handles winning well, but when he gets in trouble, he behaves like a little puke."Mark Woodforde

Examples of puke in a Sentence

Verb the drunken reveler staggered out the door and promptly puked in the bushes
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Pedialyte Electrolyte Solution Water is key to staying hydrated, but electrolyte solutions, like Pedialyte, also help with hydration if a child has been losing excessive fluids from puking or experiencing diarrhea. Katrina Cossey, Parents, 27 Feb. 2024 That gave us one of the stars of the early episodes, as one guy is forced to pick umbrella and almost puked ... for so long. IRELAND: Spencer. Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 22 Nov. 2023 How can William scrape each furry morsel into his mouth without puking all over the table? Lincee Ray, EW.com, 15 July 2023 Some key internal managers kissed the ring and enlisted themselves as Musk’s lieutenants; another reportedly puked into a trash can when asked to fire hundreds of people. Sheon Han, The New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2024 Cast members who had to puke on stage for a sketch have long relied on a plastic hose taped up alongside their arm or jacket sleeve, raising it to their mouth when a surprise upchuck was cued. Brian Steinberg, Variety, 30 Nov. 2023 Initially, many space travelers puke, or at least feel motion-sick — space-adaptation syndrome, or S.A.S., is what such nausea, headache and vomiting are called outside our atmosphere. Kim Tingley, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2023 There’s the drawing of the curtains, the curling up in bed, the dash to the toilet to puke my guts out. Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 19 Sep. 2023 No one’s hammered or puking in the aisles or getting into a fight or anything. From Wire Reports, Dallas News, 15 Sep. 2023
Noun
More than an hour after Sunday’s game, fans were still squatting on random curbs and corners, trying to get home, picking their way through the puke in the tailgating lot, jostling with hundreds of others using ride-hailing services in a chaotic parking lot. Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 4 Dec. 2023 Woodall reciprocates with his own sweet snaps of Campbell on his Instagram account, including an October 2019 Halloween pic of the couple holding a jack-o-lantern with pumpkin seeds as pretend puke. Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 15 Aug. 2023 Behind-the-scenes footage shows the special effects team testing out different kinds of vomit apparatuses to see just where the puke would land. Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2023 The contestants were welcomed to the game, said their pleasantries, and Yam Yam offered to hold anyone's puke should there be a reason to do that. Dalton Ross, EW.com, 2 Mar. 2023 Fontanilla said inducing vomiting and testing the puke is the only way to know what poison a dog has ingested, a procedure her facility has performed. Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2022 Wait for the puke. Andy Kessler, WSJ, 15 May 2022 The smell of puke lingered for the rest of the day and didn't end their friendship. Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 7 Sep. 2022 The more conservative voter may turn it off halfway through during one of the finest orchestrated puke and poop scenes in years. Clayton Davis, Variety, 23 May 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'puke.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

origin unknown

First Known Use

Verb

1601, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1705, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of puke was in 1601

Dictionary Entries Near puke

Cite this Entry

“Puke.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puke. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

puke

verb
puked; puking
puke noun

More from Merriam-Webster on puke

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