"uke" meaning in English

See uke in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /juːk/ Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-uke.wav Forms: ukes [plural]
Rhymes: -uːk Head templates: {{en-noun}} uke (plural ukes)
  1. (informal) Clipping of ukulele. Tags: abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, informal Alternative form of: ukulele Derived forms: banjo uke
    Sense id: en-uke-en-noun-d18PIhNF Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English heteronyms Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 41 44 15 Disambiguation of English heteronyms: 34 28 38
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1 Categories (other): People Disambiguation of People: 0 0 0

Noun

IPA: /ˈuːke/ Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-uke2.wav Forms: ukes [plural], uke [plural]
Rhymes: -uːke Etymology: From Japanese 受け (uke), the 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 受(う)ける (ukeru, “to receive, to get”). Etymology templates: {{der|en|ja|受け|tr=uke}} Japanese 受け (uke), {{ja-r|連%用%形|れん%よう%けい|stem or continuative form|rom=ren'yōkei}} 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”), {{ja-r|受ける|うける|to receive, to get|pos=}} 受(う)ける (ukeru, “to receive, to get”), {{ja-ryk|受ける|うける|to receive, to get}} 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 受(う)ける (ukeru, “to receive, to get”). Head templates: {{en-noun|s|uke}} uke (plural ukes or uke)
  1. (judo, martial arts) The training partner against whom tori performs a move.
    Sense id: en-uke-en-noun-r6rDEnRC Categories (other): Judo, Martial arts, English entries with incorrect language header, English heteronyms Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 41 44 15 Disambiguation of English heteronyms: 34 28 38 Topics: government, hobbies, judo, lifestyle, martial-arts, military, politics, sports, war
  2. (Japanese fiction, fandom slang) A passive or submissive male fictional character in a same-sex relationship; a bottom. Tags: Japanese, slang
    Sense id: en-uke-en-noun-Q-fdbLmb Categories (other): Japanese fiction, English entries with incorrect language header, English heteronyms, Fictional characters, Japanese fiction, LGBTQ, Male people, Stock characters, String instruments Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 41 44 15 Disambiguation of English heteronyms: 34 28 38 Disambiguation of Fictional characters: 18 15 67 Disambiguation of Japanese fiction: 2 2 97 Disambiguation of LGBTQ: 25 27 48 Disambiguation of Male people: 8 6 86 Disambiguation of Stock characters: 32 27 40 Disambiguation of String instruments: 28 23 49 Topics: fiction, lifestyle, literature, media, publishing
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2 Categories (other): People Disambiguation of People: 0 0 0

Inflected forms

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  "categories": [
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      "_dis": "0 0 0",
      "kind": "other",
      "langcode": "en",
      "name": "People",
      "orig": "en:People",
      "parents": [],
      "source": "w+disamb"
    }
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  "etymology_number": 1,
  "forms": [
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  "pos": "noun",
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    {
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        {
          "word": "ukulele"
        }
      ],
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        {
          "_dis": "41 44 15",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
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        }
      ],
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        {
          "word": "banjo uke"
        }
      ],
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        "Clipping of ukulele."
      ],
      "id": "en-uke-en-noun-d18PIhNF",
      "links": [
        [
          "ukulele",
          "ukulele#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal) Clipping of ukulele."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "clipping",
        "informal"
      ]
    }
  ],
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    },
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      "rhymes": "-uːk"
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}

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      "name": "ja-r"
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      "args": {
        "1": "受ける",
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      "name": "ja-ryk"
    }
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  "etymology_text": "From Japanese 受け (uke), the 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 受(う)ける (ukeru, “to receive, to get”).",
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      "tags": [
        "plural"
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
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        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Judo",
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          "name": "Martial arts",
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          "_dis": "34 28 38",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English heteronyms",
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        "The training partner against whom tori performs a move."
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        "(judo, martial arts) The training partner against whom tori performs a move."
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        "hobbies",
        "judo",
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        "martial-arts",
        "military",
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          "word": "seme"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
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          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Japanese fiction",
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          "_dis": "34 28 38",
          "kind": "other",
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          "kind": "other",
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          "name": "Japanese fiction",
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          "_dis": "25 27 48",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "LGBTQ",
          "orig": "en:LGBTQ",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
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          "_dis": "8 6 86",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Male people",
          "orig": "en:Male people",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "_dis": "32 27 40",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Stock characters",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "String instruments",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "ref": "2008, Tan Bee Kee, “Rewriting Gender and Sexuality in English-language Yaoi Fanfiction”, in Antonia Levi, Mark McHarry, Dru Pagliassotti, editors, Boys' Love Manga: Essays on the Sexual Ambiguity and Cross-Cultural Fandom of the Genre, McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 142:",
          "text": "Yaoi uke in fanfics often bear the brunt of stereotypical \"negative female characteristics\" such as passivity, helplessness, and masochism.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
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          "bold_text_offsets": [
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              30,
              33
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          "ref": "2010, Pentabu, My Girlfriend’s a Geek, volume 1, Yen Press, published 2012, →ISBN:",
          "text": "You'd rather have Sebas be an uke?",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
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              45,
              48
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          ],
          "ref": "2010, Kyoka Wakatsuki, “Afterword”, in The Selfish Demon King, Digital Manga Publishing, →ISBN, page 137:",
          "text": "Shizuku is so, so, so cute! I love him as an uke so much I can't stand it!",
          "type": "quote"
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        "A passive or submissive male fictional character in a same-sex relationship; a bottom."
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        "(Japanese fiction, fandom slang) A passive or submissive male fictional character in a same-sex relationship; a bottom."
      ],
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      ],
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        "fiction",
        "lifestyle",
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        "publishing"
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    },
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  "word": "uke"
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{
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    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English heteronyms",
    "English indeclinable nouns",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English nouns with irregular plurals",
    "English terms derived from Japanese",
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    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/uːk",
    "Rhymes:English/uːk/1 syllable",
    "Rhymes:English/uːke",
    "Rhymes:English/uːke/1 syllable",
    "en:Fictional characters",
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  "derived": [
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      "word": "banjo uke"
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  "etymology_number": 1,
  "forms": [
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        }
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        "English informal terms"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Clipping of ukulele."
      ],
      "links": [
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          "ukulele#English"
        ]
      ],
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        "(informal) Clipping of ukulele."
      ],
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        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "clipping",
        "informal"
      ]
    }
  ],
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  "word": "uke"
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    "English nouns with irregular plurals",
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        "(judo, martial arts) The training partner against whom tori performs a move."
      ],
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          "word": "seme"
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          "text": "Yaoi uke in fanfics often bear the brunt of stereotypical \"negative female characteristics\" such as passivity, helplessness, and masochism.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              30,
              33
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2010, Pentabu, My Girlfriend’s a Geek, volume 1, Yen Press, published 2012, →ISBN:",
          "text": "You'd rather have Sebas be an uke?",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              45,
              48
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2010, Kyoka Wakatsuki, “Afterword”, in The Selfish Demon King, Digital Manga Publishing, →ISBN, page 137:",
          "text": "Shizuku is so, so, so cute! I love him as an uke so much I can't stand it!",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A passive or submissive male fictional character in a same-sex relationship; a bottom."
      ],
      "links": [
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          "fiction",
          "fiction"
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        [
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          "slang",
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          "submissive",
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        [
          "fictional",
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        [
          "character",
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        ],
        [
          "same-sex",
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        ],
        [
          "relationship",
          "relationship"
        ],
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          "bottom",
          "bottom"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Japanese fiction, fandom slang) A passive or submissive male fictional character in a same-sex relationship; a bottom."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Japanese",
        "slang"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "fiction",
        "lifestyle",
        "literature",
        "media",
        "publishing"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
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      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-uke2.wav",
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    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-uːke"
    }
  ],
  "word": "uke"
}

Download raw JSONL data for uke meaning in English (5.8kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-06-18 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-06-01 using wiktextract (074e7de and f1c2b61). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.