/ dʒəʊlt; NAmE dʒoʊlt/ verb , noun
■ verb
1.
to move or to make sb/sth move suddenly and roughly
SYN jerk :
[ v ]
The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground.
The bus jolted to a halt.
( figurative )
Her heart jolted when she saw him.
[ vn ]
He was jolted forwards as the bus moved off.
2.
jolt sb (into sth) | jolt sb (out of sth) to give sb a sudden shock, especially so that they start to take action or deal with a situation :
[ vn ]
His remark jolted her into action.
a method of jolting the economy out of recession
[also vn - adj ]
■ noun [ usually sing. ]
1.
a sudden rough movement
SYN jerk :
The plane landed with a jolt.
2.
a sudden strong feeling, especially of shock or surprise :
a jolt of dismay
••
WORD ORIGIN
late 16th cent.: of unknown origin.