noun pl. yokes or yoke

1. a wooden frame or bar with loops or bows at either end, fitted around the necks of a pair of oxen, etc. for harnessing them together
2. a pair of animals harnessed together a yoke of oxen
3. 1. a device symbolizing a yoke, as an arch of spears, under which the conquered were forced to pass in ancient times
   2. any mark or symbol of bondage or servitude
   3. subjection; bondage; servitude
4. something that binds, unites, or connects the yoke of matrimony
5. something like a yoke in shape or function; specif.,
   1. a frame fitting over the shoulders for carrying pails, etc., one on either end
   2. a clamp, coupling, slotted piece, etc. used to hold two parts together
   3. the crosspiece to which the steering cables are attached on a ship's rudder
   4. the bar used in double harnessing to connect the horse's collar to the tongue of the wagon or carriage
6. a part of a garment fitted closely to the shoulders, as of a dress, or to the hips, as of a skirt, as a support for gathered parts
7. Elec. a piece of magnetic material, without windings, that permanently connects two or more magnet cores
8. Electronics an assembly of coils and magnetic material placed about the neck of a cathode-ray tube to provide electromagnetic deflection fields for the electron beam

Etymology: ME yok < OE geoc, akin to Ger joch < IE *yugo- (> Sans yuga, L jungere, jugum, Gr zeugma, Welsh iau, OSlav igo) < base *yeu-, to join

transitive verb yoked, yoking yok′·ing

1. to put a yoke on
2. to harness (an animal) to (a plow, etc.)
3. 1. to join together; link
   2. to join in marriage
4. Rare to enslave

intransitive verb