Link Centre Dictionary

stab

UK/stæb/ US/ˈstæb/ common informal slang
verb (3) noun (3)

verb

1.

use a knife on

  • “The victim was knifed to death”
Synonyms
2.

stab or pierce

  • “he jabbed the piece of meat with his pocket knife”
Synonyms
3.

poke or thrust abruptly

  • “he jabbed his finger into her ribs”
Synonyms

noun

1.

a sudden sharp feeling

  • “pangs of regret”
  • “she felt a stab of excitement”
  • “twinges of conscience”
Synonyms
2.

a thrusting blow with a knife or other sharp pointed instrument

  • “one strong stab to the heart killed him”
Synonyms
3.

informal words for any attempt or effort

  • “he gave it his best shot”
  • “he took a stab at forecasting”
Synonyms

Origin

First attested in Scottish English (compare Scots stob, stobbe, stabb (“a pointed stick or stake; a thrust with a pointed weapon”)), from Middle English stabbe (“a stab”), probably a variant of Middle English stob, stub, stubbe (“pointed stick, stake, thorn, stub, stump”), from Old Norse stobbi, stubbi, cognate with Old English stybb. Cognate with Middle Dutch stobbe. Supposed by some to derive from Scottish Gaelic stob (“to prick, to prod, to push, to thrust”); supposed by others to be from a Scots word.

Phrases

  • have a stab
  • have a stab at
  • stab a guess
  • stab binding
  • stab cell
  • stab in the back
  • stab in the dark
  • stab pass
  • stab yourself and pass the dagger
  • take a stab at
  • twice-stabbed lady beetle
  • twice-stabbed ladybug

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.