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Actions & Verbs
116 entries in this part of the language, each with meanings, pronunciation and worked examples.
- Baan Born — the Jamaican pronunciation of 'born', most alive in the proud phrase 'baan an grow'…
- Bade To bathe or wash — the Patois form of 'bathe'.
- Balance Beyond keeping steady, in Jamaican slang 'balance' means to relax, settle, and cool out —…
- Bawl To cry, weep, or wail loudly — and also to shout or cry out sharply.
- Bawl out To cry out or shout loudly — whether from pain, grief, or to call for help or attention.
- Bax To hit, punch, or slap — usually a sharp blow with an open hand or fist, often landed…
- Brace up To lean or prop yourself against something for support — 'brace up gainst di wall' means…
- Bruk grung To break new ground for planting — digging and turning fresh land, clearing and preparing a…
- Buck up To meet or run into someone by chance — to bump into them unexpectedly — and also to knock…
- Buss To burst, break open, or make a sudden explosive movement — the Jamaican form of 'burst'…
- Buss out To burst out — most often into sudden laughter or tears ('him buss out inna laugh'), but…
- Carry on To misbehave, make a fuss, or act up — to 'carry on' is to create a commotion, throw a…
- Cease an sekkle Stop and settle down — calm yourself, ease off, and take things easy.
- Chaw To chew — to work food, cane, or gum around in the mouth, often noisily and with relish.
- Chuck To shove, jostle, or bump against someone or something with a push.
- Cool out To relax, take it easy, and unwind — to 'cool out' is to chill, calm down, and enjoy a…
- Cork To fill, stuff, or pack tight — 'cork up' describes a place crammed full.
- Cotch To rest, perch, or prop something temporarily — and also to stay somewhere briefly or lodge…
- Cotch-up To perch, prop, rest, or squeeze in temporarily — a fuller form of 'cotch'.
- Cuff To punch or strike with the fist — and, as a noun, a punch or blow.
- Dally To swerve, weave, or zigzag — especially to ride a bicycle or motorbike in a showy, weaving…
- Dash To throw, toss, or fling — often forcefully or carelessly.
- Dash weh To throw away;
- Draw To pull, take, or reach for — with several idioms.
- Dressback To move back, retreat, or ease off — 'dress back likkle' means step back, give some room.
- Duck out To slip away quietly, dodge out of something, or avoid an obligation — leaving unnoticed to…
- Dus Beyond meaning 'dust', in Patois 'dus' also means to move very fast, to speed off, or to…
- Dweet A fused contraction of 'do it', treated as a single word meaning to do or get something…
- Fayvah To resemble or look like someone.
- Flex A person's manner, behaviour, or vibe — the way they carry on.
- Fling To throw, toss, or hurl — often carelessly or forcefully.
- Forward To go, move on, or make one's way to a place — and also to progress or advance.
- Gaan Gone — 'gaan' is the past/departed sense of go: left, departed, finished, no longer here.
- Galang To go along, go away, or carry on — a versatile word that swings between dismissal and…
- Gi To give — the everyday Jamaican form of 'give'.
- Grab To grab — to snatch, seize, or take hold of something quickly, whether reaching for a thing…
- Gwaan Go on;
- Gwan go Go on and go — 'gwaan' (go on / go ahead) joined to 'go' to mean to proceed on your way to…
- Hear To hear — but in Patois 'hear' stretches past the ears.
- Hol strain To endure hardship patiently;
- Jook To poke, prick, jab, or stab with something pointed — a stick, a needle, a knife, a thorn.
- Jook-jook To poke, prod, or prick repeatedly — the reduplication of 'juk' (to poke or jab), the…
- Juk To poke, jab, prick, or stab — with anything from a finger to a thorn to a knife.
- Ketch To catch — grab, seize, reach, or become caught.
- Ketch up yuhself Compose yourself;
- Ketch water To fetch and collect water — going to the standpipe, river, or tank to fill buckets and…
- Kibba To cover, cover up, or close over — and, most commonly, to shut.
- Kibba yuh mout Shut your mouth;
- Kick up To stir up dust, noise, or trouble — to raise a commotion.
- Kotch To perch, prop, or rest something (or yourself) temporarily and none too securely — to…
- Lef To leave, or to be left over and remaining.
- Leggo To let go, release, or set loose — a run-together of 'let go'.
- Lick To hit or strike — and as a noun, a blow.
- Lick down To knock down or strike down — 'lick' (hit) plus 'down'.
- Lick out Two senses.
- Low di ting Leave it alone;
- Lowe To leave alone, let be, or let go of.
- Malice To hold a grudge and refuse to speak to someone — to give them the silent treatment because…
- Manijz To manage — to cope, get by, or make do with what little there is.
- Mash To step on, crush, or press with the foot — 'yuh mash mi toe' means 'you stepped on my toe'.
- Mash up To destroy, ruin, wreck, or break something badly — and, as a noun or adjective, something…
- Mek Chiefly 'to make', but with two more everyday jobs: 'let/allow' as a causative, and…
- Mek haste Hurry up;
- Move yuhself 'Move yourself' — get moving, hurry up, or get out of the way, depending on heat.
- Nak To knock, hit, or bump — the Patois pronunciation of 'knock', with the initial cluster…
- Nyam-out To eat up everything greedily, or by extension to use up, drain, or squander someone's…
- Nyam-up To eat up greedily and completely — and, by extension, to mess something up, ruin it, or…
- Nyammin Eating — the continuous form of 'nyam' (to eat).
- Par To hang out with, keep company, or associate with someone — 'mi a par wid mi bredren' means…
- Pelt To throw or hurl something at a target — most often a stone.
- Pree To observe, study, or pay close attention to something or someone — to check out, scope…
- Puppa-lick A somersault — turning head over heels.
- Ramp To play, fool around, or mess about — and, in the common warning 'nuh ramp wid mi', to…
- Reach To arrive at a destination, or simply to get somewhere.
- Rope in To lure, entice, or trick someone into a scheme, deal, or trouble they would otherwise…
- Run weh To run away, flee, or take off — 'weh' being 'away'.
- Scatta To scatter — to send flying and fly apart in all directions.
- Screechie To sneak, slink, or slip in quietly and unnoticed — to move stealthily so as not to be seen.
- Sekkle To settle down, calm down, or relax — to come to rest and be at peace.
- Shub out To shove or push out — 'shub' is the Patois 'shove'.
- Siddung To sit down — 'sit' plus 'down' run together, with the 'ow' rounded to 'ung'.
- Size up To size up — to assess someone or a situation, reading them carefully before deciding how…
- Skylark To fool around, waste time, or mess about instead of being serious — 'stop skylark an do di…
- Sleep To sleep — plus some Patois turns.
- Small up To small up — to make smaller, squeeze together, or reduce.
- Squat To crouch down on the heels — 'squat dung' means to hunker down low, as country people do…
- Stagga To stagger — to walk unsteadily, lurching and swaying, most often from being drunk, but…
- Stamp foot To stamp the foot hard on the ground — in anger, in protest, in a child's tantrum, or in…
- Stretch To stretch — to reach and extend the body, arms, and legs, as on waking or after sitting…
- Style To insult, mock, or diss someone — to show them up or put them down in public, often in a…
- Suck To suck — to draw on with the mouth: sucking a sweetie, a mango seed, or juice from a fruit.
- Swat To strike a quick, sharp, flat blow — to swat, as at a mosquito or a fly, or to give…
- Swipe To snatch or grab something quickly in one swift motion — often to take it slyly or steal…
- Tan To stand — but far more often to stay, remain, or wait, and to describe how something is or…
- Tan pon it long To stay on or stick with something for a long time — to persist, hold your position, and…
- Tan-up To stand up, or to be standing — from 'tan' (stand, from 'stand') plus 'up'.
- Tap To stop or cease — 'tap it!' means 'stop it!'.
- Tear To tear or rip — but 'tear up' also means to destroy or wreck, and, in dancehall, to…
- Teef To steal — and, as a noun, a thief.
- Teif To steal;
- Tek To take — in the full range of English senses (grasp, accept, carry, use up) plus several…
- Tek in To be taken suddenly ill — to fall sick without warning.
- Tek weh To take away or remove — and also to run off or make oneself scarce.
- Tie-out To tether a grazing animal — a goat, cow, or donkey — on a rope to a stake or tree so it…
- Tief a look To sneak a glance;
- Tief-out Two senses.
- Tote To carry a load — especially a heavy one, and especially balanced on the head or in the…
- Tumble dung To fall down, topple, or collapse — 'tumble' plus 'down'.
- Tump To punch or hit hard with the fist — to land a heavy, solid blow.
- Tye To tie — the Patois spelling of 'tie'.
- Vaps A sudden impulse, whim, or urge that comes over a person out of nowhere.
- Waan To want;
- Watch To watch — to look at, observe, or keep an eye on, and often to watch out or be careful…
- Waul To howl, wail, or cry out loudly and mournfully — a long, loud lament.
- Wring neck To kill a chicken by twisting and wringing its neck — the traditional yard method of…
- Wuk To work — 'gone a wuk' means gone to work.