Wuk

verb WUK wʌk mild

Also spelled work, wuk-up

To work — 'gone a wuk' means gone to work. With 'up', 'wuk up' means to dance by grinding and rolling the hips, a lively wine done especially to soca and dancehall.

  1. verb To work; labour or a job.

    • Him gone a wuk early.

      He's gone to work early.

    • Mi nuh have no wuk right now.

      I don't have any work right now.

  2. verb 'Wuk up' — to grind and roll the hips in dance; a lively wine.

    • Di gyal dem a wuk up to di soca.

      The girls are winding to the soca.

    • Wuk up yuh body, nuh.

      Roll your hips, then.

The Jamaican pronunciation of English 'work'; the 'wuk up' dance sense is shared with the wider Caribbean, especially soca culture.

Plain 'wuk' is work; 'wuk up' is the hip-rolling dance. Context — and the little word 'up' — tells them apart.