Poky (also spelled pokey) describes something or someone annoyingly slow. When your little brother takes forever to tie his shoes while everyone waits by the door, he's being poky. A poky computer that takes minutes to load a simple webpage tests your patience. A poky car crawling along in the fast lane frustrates other drivers.

The word captures a specific kind of slowness: not the peaceful slowness of a lazy Sunday afternoon, but the irritating slowness that holds things up when you need them to move along. A poky restaurant takes so long to bring your food that you wonder if they forgot your order. A poky checkout line at the store seems to move one person every five minutes.

You might also hear about a poky little room or apartment. In this case, poky means uncomfortably small and cramped, like a bedroom barely big enough for a bed. This second meaning is less common in American English but appears in British English.

The opposite of poky would be quick, efficient, or speedy. When something moves at exactly the pace it should, nobody calls it poky. That word is reserved for things that test your patience by dragging along when they really ought to speed up.