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Entry 12 senses · 3 variants Webster, 1913

Yoke

/(yōk)/ · IPA /joʊk/
01 n. A bar or frame of wood by which two oxen are joined at the heads or necks for working together.
  1. 1.
    A bar or frame of wood by which two oxen are joined at the heads or necks for working together.
    “A yearling bullock to thy name shall smoke, Untamed, unconscious of the galling yoke.” — Pope.
  2. 2.
    A frame or piece resembling a yoke, as in use or shape.(Mach.)
  3. 3.
    Fig.: That which connects or binds; a chain; a link; a bond connection.
    “Boweth your neck under that blissful yoke . . . Which that men clepeth spousal or wedlock.” — Chaucer.
    “This yoke of marriage from us both remove.” — Dryden.
  4. 4.
    A mark of servitude; hence, servitude; slavery; bondage; service.
    “Our country sinks beneath the yoke.” — Shak.
    “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” — Matt. xi. 30.
  5. 5.
    Two animals yoked together; a couple; a pair that work together.
    “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them.” — Luke xiv. 19.
  6. 6.
    The quantity of land plowed in a day by a yoke of oxen.[Obs.]
  7. 7.
    A portion of the working day; as, to work two yokes, that is, to work both portions of the day, or morning and afternoon.[Prov. Eng.]
  8. 8.
    A clamp or similar piece that embraces two other parts to hold or unite them in their respective or relative positions, as a strap connecting a slide valve to the valve stem, or the soft iron block or bar permanently connecting the pole pieces of an electromagnet, as in a dynamo.(Chiefly Mach.)
Phrases & compounds
Neck yoke — See under Neck, and Pig.
Yoke elm — the European hornbeam (Carpinus Betulus), a small tree with tough white wood, often used for making yokes for cattle.
02 v. t. To put a yoke on; to join in or with a yoke; as, to yoke oxen, or pair of oxen.
imp. & p. p. Yoked; p. pr. & vb. n. Yoking
  1. 1.
    To put a yoke on; to join in or with a yoke; as, to yoke oxen, or pair of oxen.
  2. 2.
    To couple; to join with another.
    “Cassius, you are yoked with a lamb.” — Shak.
  3. 3.
    To enslave; to bring into bondage; to restrain; to confine.
    “Then were they yoked with garrisons.” — Milton.
    “The words and promises that yoke The conqueror are quickly broke.” — Hudibras.
03 v. i. To be joined or associated; to be intimately connected; to consort closely; to mate.
  1. 1.
    To be joined or associated; to be intimately connected; to consort closely; to mate.
    “We 'll yoke together, like a double shadow.” — Shak.