plural yokes
1
a
: a wooden bar or frame by which two draft animals (such as oxen) are joined at the heads or necks for working together
b
: an arched device formerly laid on the neck of a defeated person
c
: a frame fitted to a person's shoulders to carry a load in two equal portions
d
: a bar by which the end of the tongue of a wagon or carriage is suspended from the collars of the harness
e(1)
: a crosspiece on the head of a boat's rudder
(2)
: an airplane control operating the elevators and ailerons
f
: a frame from which a bell is hung
g
: a clamp or similar piece that embraces two parts to hold or unite them in position
2
4
: a fitted or shaped piece at the top of a skirt or at the shoulder of various garments
yoked; yoking
1
a(1)
: to put a yoke on
(2)
: to join in or with a yoke
b
: to attach a draft animal to
also
: to attach (a draft animal) to something
2
: to join as if by a yoke
3
: to put to work
: to become joined or linked
Examples of yoke in a Sentence
Noun
a people able at last to throw off the yoke and to embrace freedom
Verb
The two oxen were yoked together.
yoked several ideas together to come up with a new theory
Recent Examples on the Web
Matt Shaw, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
Instead of a traditional wheel, the Filante Record 2025 has a sci-fi-style yoke with protruding handles on each side that use steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire systems to control steering, stopping, and acceleration.
—New Atlas, 6 Feb. 2025
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
To yoke those antennas together into a single powerful telescope will require state-of-the-art amplification and signal processing (more on that later).
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Nov. 2017
See All Example Sentences for yoke
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Noun
Art critic Eva Diaz, writing for ArtReview, says that
Of the ‘creative’ pursuits, architecture is among the most dependent on big piles of capital in order to get its work off the ground: patronage is a constitutive yoke of the profession.
—Matt Shaw, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
Instead of a traditional wheel, the Filante Record 2025 has a sci-fi-style yoke with protruding handles on each side that use steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire systems to control steering, stopping, and acceleration.
—New Atlas, 6 Feb. 2025
Verb
Children could survive being yoked to the value of humanity as a whole.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
To yoke those antennas together into a single powerful telescope will require state-of-the-art amplification and signal processing (more on that later).
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Nov. 2017
See All Example Sentences for yoke
Cite this Entry
“Yoke.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yoke. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
yoke
1 of 2 noun
plural yokes
1
a
: a wooden bar or frame by which two work animals (as oxen) are joined at their heads or necks for pulling a plow or load
b
: a frame fitted to a person's shoulders to carry a load in two equal portions
c
: a clamp or brace that holds or unites two parts
2
plural usually yoke
: two animals yoked together
5
: a fitted or shaped piece at the top of a skirt or at the shoulder of a garment
yoke
2 of 2 verb
yoked; yoking
1
: to put a yoke on
2
: to attach (a work animal) to something
yoke a horse to a cart
3
: to join as if by a yoke
4
: to put to work
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