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.
 nv
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
1

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
2

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
3

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"
4

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

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