Link Centre Dictionary

jab

UK/d͡ʒæb/ US/ˈdʒæb/ fairly common slang uk us
verb (3) noun (3)

verb

1.

poke or thrust abruptly

  • “he jabbed his finger into her ribs”
Synonyms
2.

strike or punch quick and short blows

3.

stab or pierce

  • “he jabbed the piece of meat with his pocket knife”
Synonyms

noun

1.

a sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow)

  • “he warned me with a jab with his finger”
  • “he made a thrusting motion with his fist”
Synonyms
2.
3.

the act of touching someone suddenly with your finger or elbow

  • “she gave me a sharp dig in the ribs”
Synonyms

Origin

Originally a Scottish (unclear if Scots or Scottish English) form of English job (“peck, poke, thrust”), from Middle English jobben.

Phrases

  • jab artist
  • jab jab
  • jab molassie
  • jab saw
  • skinny jab
  • terrorist fist jab

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.