Meaning & use
poka dog
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A Hawaiian snack made by wrapping a piece of raw marinated fish, usually ahi tuna, in a small sheet of dried seaweed.
Grammar: Countable: use a/an and a plural -s, as in 'a poka dog' and 'three poka dogs'.
Patterns
- a poka dog
- eat poka dogs
- make poka dogs
At the beach stand, they sell poka dogs for a few dollars each.
She packed poka dogs and rice for the school picnic.
The poka dogs here use fresh ahi with a little sesame oil.
nouncountableAmerican
A mainland variation of this snack in which the same marinated raw fish is served in a hot dog bun.
Grammar: Also countable; the bun version is often spelled 'poke dog'.
Patterns
- a poka dog in a bun
- order a poka dog
The food truck's poka dog comes in a soft bun with extra sauce.
He tried a poka dog in a bun and liked it better than the seaweed version.
Word forms
| plural | poka dogs |
|---|
Common combinations
- fresh poka dog
- The market advertises a fresh poka dog made with today's catch.
- spicy poka dog
- I asked for a spicy poka dog with chili flakes on top.
- order a poka dog
- We stopped at the counter to order a poka dog each.
- poka dog stand
- A small poka dog stand opened near the harbor.
Synonyms and how they differ
- poke
- The plain dish of cubed marinated raw fish; a poka dog is that fish wrapped in seaweed or put in a bun.
Word family
- poke noun
- A Hawaiian dish of diced raw fish, usually served as a salad or bowl.
Commonly confused: poka dog or hot dog? poka dog or poker?
poka dog vs hot dog
A hot dog is a cooked sausage in a bun; a poka dog contains raw marinated fish, not sausage.
poka dog vs poker
Poker is a card game and sounds similar, but it has nothing to do with this snack.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'poka dog' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Poka dog' is a countable noun, so a singular one needs 'a' and no plural -s: 'a poka dog'. Option 2 wrongly adds -s to 'stand', option 3 drops the article, and option 4 mixes 'a' with a plural noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “poka dog”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.