yoke

8 definitions • 7 examples

a wooden bar that is fastened over the necks of two animals, especially cattle, and connected to the vehicle or load that they are pulling

a fitted part of a piece of clothing, especially a strip that goes around the shoulders or waist, to which is sewn a looser piece of material

something that connects two things or people, usually in a way that unfairly limits freedom:

the yoke of marriage

Both countries had thrown off the communist yoke.

a thing whose name you do not know or cannot remember:

What's that yoke there?

Ah, it's a great yoke.

to put a yoke on animals, especially cattle, so that they are fastened together and to a connected vehicle or load:

Two oxen yoked to a plough walked wearily up and down the field.

to combine or connect two things:

All these different political elements have somehow been yoked together to form a new alliance.

(esp. in the past) a wooden bar fastened over the necks of two animals, esp. cattle, and connected to a vehicle or load that they are pulling

fig. Yoke can also refer to something that unfairly limits freedom:

the yoke of slavery