yoke

Ever seen a picture of a farm girl carrying two buckets of water hanging from ropes attached to a stick she's balancing across her shoulders? That stick on her shoulders is a yoke.

Yoke also can mean the stick that connects two work animals together, or the act of connecting two things together as with a yoke. A classic tool of farmers for centuries, the yoke has also become a symbol of oppression — no one wants to live under the yoke of a tyrant's rule. Do not confuse yoke with yolk, the yellow part of an egg.

Primary Meanings of yoke

1.	n v	support consisting of a wooden frame across the shoulders that enables a person to carry buckets hanging from each end link with or as with a yoke
2.	n	a connection (like a clamp or vise) between two things so they move together
3.	n	an oppressive power
4.	n	fabric comprising a fitted part at the top of a garment

Full Definitions of yoke

n support consisting of a wooden frame across the shoulders that enables a person to carry buckets hanging from each end

Type of:: support
any device that bears the weight of another thing

n stable gear that joins two draft animals at the neck so they can work together as a team

Type of:: saddlery, stable gear, tack
gear for a horse

n a pair of draft animals joined by a yoke

“pulled by a yoke of oxen”

Type of:: pair
two people considered as a unit

v link with or as with a yoke

“yoke the oxen together”

Synonyms:: link

Type of:: attach
cause to be attached

v put a yoke on or join with a yoke

“Yoke the draft horses together”

Antonyms:: unyoke
remove the yoke from

Types:: inspan
attach a yoke or harness to

Type of:: attach
cause to be attached

v become joined or linked together

Type of:: conjoin, join
make contact or come together

n a connection (like a clamp or vise) between two things so they move together

Synonyms:: coupling

Type of:: connecter, connection, connective, connector, connexion
an instrumentality that connects

n two items of the same kind

Synonyms:: brace, couple, couplet, distich, duad, duet, duo, dyad, pair, span, twain, twosome

Types:: doubleton
(bridge) a pair of playing cards that are the only cards in their suit in the hand dealt to a player

Type of:: 2, II, deuce, two
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number

n an oppressive power

“under the yoke of a tyrant”

“they threw off the yoke of domination”

Type of:: oppression
the state of being kept down by unjust use of force or authority: "after years of oppression they finally revolted"

n fabric comprising a fitted part at the top of a garment

Types:: tucker
a detachable yoke of linen or lace worn over the breast of a low-cut dress

Type of:: cloth, fabric, material, textile
artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers