jolt

present singular third person jolts · participle present jolting · participle past jolted · past jolted

1. transitiveTo push or shake abruptly and roughly.

   The bus jolted its passengers at every turn.

2. transitiveTo knock sharply
3. transitiveTo shock (someone) into taking action or being alert

   I jolted her out of complacency.

4. transitiveTo shock emotionally.

   Her untimely death jolted us all.

5. intransitiveTo shake; to move with a series of jerks.

   The car jolted along the stony path.

plural jolts

1. An act of jolting.

   Timing your first coffee for mid-morning allows the caffeine to work its magic right as your body’s natural energy starts to wane. Instead of a jolt, you get a smooth, effective lift that carries you through the late morning and into the afternoon.

   2025 August 22, “The Perfect Caffeine Kick: When is the Best Time to Drink Coffee for Energy?”, in Mochas & Javas

2. A surprise or shock.
3. slangA long prison sentence.

   After three "jolts" in prison, three separate periods of incarceration, Braly decided to try his hand at writing.

   1994, Eric Cummins, The Rise and Fall of California's Radical Prison Movement, page 30

   3 more examples

   Just sit down and look around for a while. Notice your cell, John. Take a good look at it, because it is going to be your home for the next ten years. Sure! You have just gotten a ten-year "jolt," John; so settle down and be a good prisoner.

   1949, American Journal of Correction, page 24

   But blow wise to this, buddy, blow wise to this: Never play cards with a man called Doc. Never eat at a place called Mom's. Never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own. Never let nobody talk you into shaking another man's jolt. And never you cop another man's plea. I've tried 'em all and I know. They don't work.

   1958, Nelson Algren, A Walk on the Wild Side, page 312

   "How long did she do after I left the joint" / "About a year or so. They wanted to parole her. […]" Mae wrinkled her forehead. “It's hard to figure out, sometimes.” Again she frowned heavily. “I don't give a damn myself—I'm a thief, and nothing they can ever do will hurt me. But Mrs. Loring, now, she was different. That jolt did hurt her bad. […]"

   1998, H. Bruce Franklin, editor, Prison Writing in 20th-Century America

4. slangA narcotic injection.
5. engineeringThe rate of change in acceleration with respect to time.

   Synonyms: jerk, surge, lurch