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Definition of "jolt" []

  • To move or dislodge with a sudden, hard blow; strike heavily or jarringly: jolted his opponent with a heavy punch; an impact that jolted the mailbox loose. (verb-transitive)
  • To cause to move jerkily: stops and starts that jolted the passengers. (verb-transitive)
  • To put into a specified condition by or as if by a blow: "Now and then he jolted a nodding reader awake by inserting a witty paragraph” ( Walter Blair). (verb-transitive)
  • To make suddenly active or effective: The remark jolted my memory. (verb-transitive)
  • To disturb suddenly and severely; stun: She was jolted by the betrayal of her trusted friend. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "jolt" in a sentence
  • "He had come to the decision that Ruth needed what he called a jolt to bring her to herself, much as a sleep-walker is aroused by the touch of"
  • "Such jobs cannot be created by a short-term jolt of government spending, or by cutting government investments in education, science, technology, and infrastructure."
  • "Japan may have provided a short-term jolt to uranium prices, but the new generation of nuclear plants slated for the world's fastest growing economies is still intact."