Definition of 'yoke'

Word Frequency

yoke

(joʊk )

Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense yokes , present participle yoking , past tense, past participle yoked

1. singular noun [adjective NOUN]

If you say that people are under the yoke of a bad thing or person, you mean they are forced to live in a difficult or unhappy state because of that thing or person.

[literary]

People are still suffering under the yoke of slavery. [+ of]

...a domineering comedian whose son flees to Blackpool to escape the parental yoke.

Synonyms: oppression, slavery, bondage, servitude More Synonyms of yoke

2. countable noun

A yoke is a long piece of wood which is tied across the necks of two animals such as oxen, in order to make them walk close together when they are pulling a plough.

3. verb

If two or more people or things are yoked together, they are forced to be closely linked with each other.

The introduction attempts to yoke the pieces together. [V n together]

They want their own currency instead of being yoked into someone else's monetary system. [V n + to/into]

Farmers and politicians are yoked by money and votes. [be VERB-ed]

Synonyms: unite, join, link, tie More Synonyms of yoke

More Synonyms of yoke

yoke in British English

(jəʊk )

nounWord forms: plural yokes or yoke

a wooden frame, usually consisting of a bar with an oxbow or similar collar-like piece at either end, for attaching to the necks of a pair of draught animals, esp oxen, so that they can be worked as a team

something resembling a yoke in form or function, such as a frame fitting over a person's shoulders for carrying buckets suspended at either end

a fitted part of a garment, esp around the neck, shoulders, and chest or around the hips, to which a gathered, pleated, flared, or unfitted part is attached

an immense oppressive force or burden

under the yoke of a tyrant

a pair of oxen or other draught animals joined together by a yoke

a part, esp one of relatively thick cross section, that secures two or more components so that they move together

a crosshead that transmits the drive of an opposed piston engine from the upper of a pair of linked pistons to the crankshaft through a connecting rod

a steel framework around the formwork during the casting of concrete

9. nautical

a crossbar fixed athwartships to the head of a rudderpost in a small boat, to which are attached ropes or cables for steering

10.

a Y-shaped cable, rope, or chain, used for holding, towing, etc

11.

(in the ancient world) a symbolic reconstruction of a yoke, consisting of two upright spears with a third lashed across them, under which conquered enemies were compelled to march, esp in Rome

12.

a mark, token, or symbol of slavery, subjection, or suffering

13. rare

a link, tie, or bond

the yoke of love

14. British dialect

a period of steady work, esp the time during which a ploughman and his team work at a stretch

15. Irish

any device, unusual object, or gadget

where's the yoke for opening tins?

verb

16. (transitive)

to secure or harness (a draught animal) to (a plough, vehicle, etc) by means of a yoke

17.

to join or be joined by means of a yoke; couple, unite, or link

18. (transitive) obsolete

to oppress, burden, or enslave

Derived forms

yokeless (ˈyokeless)

adjective

Word origin

Old English geoc; related to Old High German ioh, Old Norse ok, Gothic juk, Latin iugum, Sanskrit yugam

Word Frequency

yoke in American English

(joʊk )

nounWord forms: plural yokes or yoke

a wooden frame or bar with loops or bows at either end, fitted around the necks of a pair of oxen, etc. for harnessing them together

a pair of animals harnessed together

a yoke of oxen

a device symbolizing a yoke, as an arch of spears, under which the conquered were forced to pass in ancient times

any mark or symbol of bondage or servitude

subjection; bondage; servitude

something that binds, unites, or connects

the yoke of matrimony

something like a yoke in shape or function

; specif.,

a frame fitting over the shoulders for carrying pails, etc., one on either end

a clamp, coupling, slotted piece, etc. used to hold two parts together

the crosspiece to which the steering cables are attached on a ship's rudder

the bar used in double harnessing to connect the horse's collar to the tongue of the wagon or carriage

a part of a garment fitted closely to the shoulders, as of a dress, or to the hips, as of a skirt, as a support for gathered parts

7. Electricity

a piece of magnetic material, without windings, that permanently connects two or more magnet cores

8. Electronics

an assembly of coils and magnetic material placed about the neck of a cathode-ray tube to provide electromagnetic deflection fields for the electron beam

verb transitiveWord forms: yoked or ˈyoking

to put a yoke on

10.

to harness (an animal) to (a plow, etc.)

11.

to join together; link

to join in marriage

12. Rare

to enslave

verb intransitive

13.

to be joined together or closely united

SIMILAR WORDS: pair

Word origin

ME yok < OE geoc, akin to Ger joch < IE *yugo- (> Sans yuga, L jungere, jugum, Gr zeugma, Welsh iau, OSlav igo) < base *yeu-, to join

Example sentences including
yoke

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It was a wooden contraption that they would put on one animal and yoke him to another.The difficulty rarely lies in any unwillingness to yoke these two things together.I'm not sure that it helps to yoke these two different regions into a single fund.