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# jerk

«jerk» in Mova's school dictionary: **To move or pull suddenly and roughly** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (jerk, jerks, jerked, jerking); noun (a jerk, jerks)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (verb) To move or pull suddenly and roughly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jerk/#m1)

2) (noun) A quick, sudden movement or pull. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jerk/#m2)

3) (noun, rude, informal) A mean or stupid person. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jerk/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In science of forces and in stories it describes sudden movements: «The bus jerked forward», «with a jerk». In safety: a sudden jerk on a lead or rope can hurt. «Knee-jerk reaction» means a quick answer without thinking. The rude meaning is an insult, so it is not polite to call people that.

### examples

- The car jerked forward when Dad let go of the brake. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jerk/#x1)
- She jerked her hand away from the hot pan. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jerk/#x2)
- The train stopped with a jerk. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jerk/#x3)
- The fish gave a jerk on the line. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jerk/#x4)
- He woke up with a jerk. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jerk/#x5)
- It was rude to call him a jerk. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jerk/#x6)
- The doctor tapped my knee and my leg jerked. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jerk/#x7)
- Seizing one corner of the half-worn blanket, Iktomi pulled it off with a jerk. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jerk/#x8)

### note

Regular verb: jerked. Adjective «jerky» = moving in sudden stops and starts; «jerky» (noun) is also dried meat. Calling someone «a jerk» is name-calling and can be hurtful.

### In the corpora

- [The sudden jerk as you fall asleep is a common, harmless muscle twitch, and nobody is sure why it happens.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/363-sleep-and-dreams-in-people/15/)
- [A cramp must be stretched slowly and gently; jerking it hard can pull the muscle.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/37-warming-up-stitches-and-cramp/18/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «jerk» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jerk/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.