Definition of 'yoke'

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

yoke in American Englishfor 2 1

(jouk) (noun plural for 1, 3–20 yokes or yoke, verb yoked, yoking)

noun

a device for joining together a pair of draft animals, esp. oxen, usually consisting of a crosspiece with two bow-shaped pieces, each enclosing the head of an animal

Compare harness (sense 1)

a pair of draft animals fastened together by a yoke

five yoke of oxen

something resembling a yoke or a bow of a yoke in form or use

a frame fitting the neck and shoulders of a person, for carrying a pair of buckets or the like, one at each end

an agency of oppression, subjection, servitude, etc

an emblem or symbol of subjection, servitude, slavery, etc., as an archway under which prisoners of war were compelled to pass by the ancient Romans and others

something that couples or binds together; a bond or tie

8. Machinery

a viselike piece gripping two parts firmly together

9. Also called: fork

a forklike termination for a rod or shaft, inside which another part is secured

10.

a fitting for the neck of a draft animal for suspending the tongue of a cart, carriage, etc., from a harness

11.

a crosshead attached to the upper piston of an opposed-piston engine with rods to transmit power to the crankshaft

12. (in an airplane)

a double handle, somewhat like a steering wheel in form, by which the elevators are controlled

13. Nautical

a crossbar on the head of the rudder of a small boat, having lines or chains attached to the ends so as to permit the steering of the boat from forward

14. See spreader beam

15.

a shaped piece in a garment, fitted about or below the neck and shoulders or about the hips, from which the rest of the garment hangs

16.

a horizontal piece forming the top of a window frame

17.

a Y-shaped piece connecting branch pipes with a main soil pipe

18. Television

an electromagnetic assembly placed around the neck of a cathode-ray tube to produce and control the scanning motion of electron beams inside the tube

19. Brit dialect (esp in Kent)

the time during which a plowman and team work without stopping; a period of plowing

a measure or area of land equal to over 50 but less than 60 acres

20.

a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter Y

transitive verb

21.

to put a yoke on; join or couple by means of a yoke

22.

to attach (a draft animal) to a plow or vehicle

to yoke oxen

23.

to harness a draft animal to (a plow or vehicle)

to yoke a wagon

24.

to join, couple, link, or unite

25. obsolete

to bring into subjection or servitude

intransitive verb

26.

to be or become joined, linked, or united

Derived forms

yokeless

adjective

Word origin

[bef. 900; (n.) ME yok(e), OE geoc; c. D juk, G Joch, ON ok, L jugum, Gk zygón, Hittite yugan, Skt yuga; (v.) ME yoken, OE geocian, deriv. of the n.]

yoke in American English 2

(jouk)

noun

yolk

Examples of 'yoke' in a sentence
yoke

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…

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.