yoke

1 of 2

noun

ˈyōk 

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

plural usually yoke : two animals yoked or worked together

3

a(1)

: an oppressive agency

(2)

: servitude, bondage

b

: tie, link

especially : marriage

4

: a fitted or shaped piece at the top of a skirt or at the shoulder of various garments

yoke

2 of 2

verb

yoked; yoking

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

: to become joined or linked

Synonyms

Noun

• bondage
• enslavement
• servility
• servitude
• slavery
• thrall
• thralldom
• thraldom

Verb

• catenate
• chain
• compound
• concatenate
• conjugate
• connect
• couple
• hitch
• hook
• interconnect
• interlink
• join
• link

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

Noun

My great-grandmother in Georgia always wore a full-length dressing gown, while one of my Ohio grandmothers liked silky two-piece sets, and the other preferred flannel nightshirts with a rounded yoke that looked like something out of Little House on the Prairie. —Clint Davis, Southern Living, 21 Dec. 2024

This short-term self-discipline set the stage for long-term success: Hungary was freed from the Soviet yoke, the United States prevailed in the Cold War, and a devastating war was avoided. —Samuel Charap, Foreign Affairs, 12 Sep. 2022

Verb

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

The effort to yoke radical politics to radical aesthetics—to make art that’s revolutionary both in content and form—is as central to modernity as revolution itself is. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English yok, from Old English geoc; akin to Old High German joh yoke, Latin jugum, Greek zygon, Sanskrit yuga, Latin jungere to join

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a(1)

Kids Definition

yoke

1 of 2 noun

ˈyōk 

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

3

: servitude, bondage

4

: tie, link

the yoke of matrimony

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