How to Use jerk in a Sentence

jerk

1 of 2 noun
Definition of jerknext
Synonyms for jerknext
  • He felt the jerk of the line as a fish took the bait.
  • The car started with a jerk.
  • Most of the kids are nice, but some are jerks.
  • The dead branch came loose after a few jerks.
  • That jerk can't do anything right.
  • The 16-year-old is an a-hole at worst and a jerk at best to the 11-year-old.
    — Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2022
  • The flip side of that is like, dang, nobody wants to work with a jerk.
    — James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Sep. 2022
  • Bite-sized chunks of chicken thigh are crisped and tossed in a jerk sauce.
    — Lawrence Specker | Lspecker@al.com, al, 11 Sep. 2023
  • But peacocks are not the brightest and can be kind of jerks.
    — Sandra Gutierrez, Popular Science, 25 Oct. 2023
  • On the other hand, no one wants to do business with a jerk.
    — Dylan Ogline, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2022
  • Hence, the jerks are able to reign without much pushback.
    — Brian Hamilton, Fortune, 13 Feb. 2024
  • Movies Tom Hanks claims he’s been a jerk on movie sets.
    — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2023
  • It is made to order, so steamed, fried, jerk, baked or brown stew.
    — Kristine M. Kierzek, Journal Sentinel, 15 Mar. 2023
  • Bed bugs are resilient little jerks who play the world's worst game of hide-and-seek.
    — John Tufts, The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024
  • The jerks and the misogynists have so far been left to shape the metaverse in their own image.
    — Moira Donegan, ELLE, 14 Apr. 2023
  • In the metaverse, work will be rewarding, and your boss will not be a jerk.
    — Joe Queenan, WSJ, 6 Jan. 2022
  • There’s been one guy who was a jerk out of the couple hundred who ordered.
    — Josh Chesler, SPIN, 1 Feb. 2023
  • The weight of the shelf caused the bracket to settle into place with a visible jerk.
    — Barry Markovsky, Discover Magazine, 29 Oct. 2023
  • This Guy/Rip That Guy is some of the easiest knee-jerk writing out there.
    — Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, 17 May 2022
  • The locations zip across the screen, and when one subplot starts to shine, the camera jerks across the world to someone new.
    — Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 31 Mar. 2023
  • His head and his arms jerk as if there is some stiffness in his body, which might be fear or anger.
    — Keith Ridgway, The Atlantic, 18 Apr. 2022
  • There was no jerk when the motor kicked in, as there can be with a pedal-assist.
    — Patricia Marx, The New Yorker, 26 Dec. 2022
  • The hip jerks, arm sweeps and knee lifts appeared graceful, but to her, the six women in front of her looked out of sync.
    — Maria Cramer, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2024
  • If your boss is a jerk, why is everyone walking off the cliff for him/her?
    — Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Sep. 2022
  • Your reluctance here arises from the fact that your brother has been a jerk to you over the years.
    — New York Times, 11 Jan. 2022
  • The privileged jerks who JB and his team encounter are also, of course, sore losers and cheaters.
    — Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2023
  • Lovullo thought the ejection call was too quick, as in, a knee-jerk reaction.
    — José M. Romero, The Arizona Republic, 4 May 2022
  • The knee-jerk response is often to try and get back to the status quo, rather than improving the system.
    — Tim Benton, CNN, 13 July 2022
  • Looking back, there were clues that the manager for one of her prior roles might be a jerk.
    — Tara Weiss, WSJ, 17 Jan. 2023
  • Your experience and your feelings are her chance to open her mind and be, frankly, less of a jerk.
    — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2023
Advertisement

jerk

2 of 2 verb
  • Yonatan jerked away from his phone, then looked at the names again.
    — Kevin Sieff, Washington Post, 7 Nov. 2023
  • Snider wore a pitch to start the frame and Mann jerked a single to right field.
    — Randy Rosetta, The Courier-Journal, 1 June 2018
  • Her hand jerked, and the brush rolled off the ceramic rest.
    — Veronica Chambers, New York Times, 28 June 2019
  • Should kids who love to daydream be jerked back to earth?
    — Laura Turner, Glamour, 26 Apr. 2019
  • Don't twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin.
    — Nancy Clanton, ajc, 3 May 2019
  • Each time the strap connected with flesh, the army cot the boys clung to would jerk and heave.
    — Carol Marbin Miller, miamiherald, 10 July 2018
  • Her eyes scanned the ground, then jerked back up toward the anchor.
    — Anna Callaghan, Outside Online, 3 Apr. 2018
  • Too much, and the rider exited off the back or got jerked to the side.
    — Andrew Graybill, WSJ, 25 May 2018
  • The girl rose and began running with the headphones on, but the cord jerked her back.
    — Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 6 Jan. 2024
  • Still, no one jerked hard enough to lift the rod twenty inches.
    — Justin Nobel, Longreads, 5 Sep. 2017
  • Do not twist or jerk the bug, to avoid causing the mouthparts to break off and remain in the skin.
    — Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 30 June 2021
  • Be ready for the head-jerking jolt when the driver nails the throttle, even a little bit.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 July 2019
  • Only after the party jerked left did the GOP win its 2010 blowout.
    — Kimberley A. Strassel, WSJ, 1 Nov. 2018
  • Its grip was so tight that when the hawk grabbed it, Peggy’s entire arm jerked up in the air with the attempt.
    — Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN, 9 Aug. 2023
  • Spices smudge the surface and resonate deep into the meat of both Boswell’s jerk chicken and pork.
    — Brett Anderson, NOLA.com, 30 Jan. 2018
  • The steering wheel jerked to the right, then to the left, and the airbags deployed seconds before the car jumped the curb and slammed into the business.
    — Cory Shaffer, cleveland, 21 Aug. 2023
  • Jockey Abel Cedillo jerked on the reins to ease the 4-year-old gelding, who hopped on three legs.
    — Washington Post, 4 Nov. 2019
  • Still, the climax arrives with tear-jerking catharsis all the same.
    — Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 9 Dec. 2019
  • And the fact that Heath Ledger is no longer with us certainly ups the tear-jerking factor.
    — Cady Drell, Marie Claire, 3 Oct. 2018
  • The combine's cabin sits 10 feet up, with a windshield that wraps around for a clear view of the beans being jerked from the ground.
    — Autumn Schoolman, Indianapolis Star, 4 Feb. 2020
  • Her hands would jerk up at her sides as if in surrender.
    — Mark Johnson, Anchorage Daily News, 11 May 2023
  • His eyes darted and his body jerked at every loud noise in the busy ER hallway.
    — Julia Michie Bruckner, Discover Magazine, 11 May 2018
  • One of the crew jerks a lever, releasing the first in a line of 3-month-old calves, standing rump to face in the confines of the metal chute.
    — Melissa Lyttle, Smithsonian, 13 Dec. 2017
  • Burkett then tried to jerk away from his captors and grab a radio from a desk in the control room.
    — oregonlive, 8 Nov. 2019
  • Beth stood up as if to change the station on the television, then reached up and jerked the curtain aside.
    — Tribune News Service, oregonlive.com, 22 June 2019
  • As the fingertip snapped up, the right thumb jerked toward the index finger.
    — Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 1 Feb. 2018
  • The Camry’s driver jerked his car onto the right shoulder.
    — Cyrus Farivar, Ars Technica, 17 Oct. 2018
  • When the stress is too much and the system has to jerk into a new position, the jerk triggers an earthquake.
    — Jackie Appel, Popular Mechanics, 18 Apr. 2023
  • Romance Who has time for loving with all the tear-jerking drama that is This Is Us?
    — Tracy L. Scott, The Root, 30 Oct. 2017
  • Still, a big enough bump on the head can jerk the brain around inside this protective bath, or even slam it against the inside of the skull.
    — Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 8 Dec. 2022

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

Last Updated: