puked; puking; pukes
informal
: vomit entry 1
… the hideous smell, which … had made me hold my stomach and my breath sometimes, in an effort not to puke …—
Oliver Sacks
Oliver Sacks'You Washington know-it-alls make me puke,' Quimper said, retiring from the conversation.—James A. Michener
James A. MichenerSadly for Sam, sailing is not his strong suit, prompting him to puke his guts out all over the place.—Josh Wigler
—often used with upJosh WiglerJust puked up the cup of coffee I tried to down as my only form of nourishment.—Hugh Gallagher
Hugh Gallagher"Damn woman, first you puke up and then you catch an attitude."—Hariette Surovell
Hariette Surovell
plural pukes
1
informal
: vomit
I remember there was always dog puke on the sidewalks in El Paso.—Jayne Anne Phillips
Jayne Anne PhillipsThe 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
David Poyer2
slang
: a disgusting, unlikeable, or contemptible person
"… handles winning well, but when he gets in trouble, he behaves like a little puke."—Mark Woodforde
Mark WoodfordeExamples of puke in a Sentence
Verb
the drunken reveler staggered out the door and promptly puked in the bushes
Recent Examples on the Web
Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Oct. 2025
Annabelle wants souls, demons possess you by puking into your mouth, and no powers of darkness are stronger than the love between spooky mom and dad, Ed and Lorraine Warren.
—Emily Palmer Heller, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 3 Oct. 2025
The boy is stupefied, snot intermingling with the puke dripping from his mouth to his navel.
—Matthew Shen Goodman, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for puke
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Verb
Megan couldn't choke down a single sip of the chicken smoothie and almost puked in the sink after trying it.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Oct. 2025
Annabelle wants souls, demons possess you by puking into your mouth, and no powers of darkness are stronger than the love between spooky mom and dad, Ed and Lorraine Warren.
—Emily Palmer Heller, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Noun
The best movies extract emotions from us, and watching the most objectionable material in Waters’ masterpiece from 1972 can feel like trying to hold puke back behind your eyeballs.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 3 Oct. 2025
The boy is stupefied, snot intermingling with the puke dripping from his mouth to his navel.
—Matthew Shen Goodman, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for puke
Cite this Entry
“Puke.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puke. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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