jab

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verb

jabbed; jabbing; jabs

transitive verb

1
a
: to pierce or prod (someone or something) with or as if with a pointed object
She jabbed the steak with her fork.
The nurse jabbed me with the needle.
He jabbed me in the ribs with his elbow.
b
: to push or drive (something, such as a pointed object) quickly, abruptly, or forcefully : thrust
The nurse jabbed the needle into my arm.
She jabbed her elbow into my ribs.
He shouted at Alvarez … , jabbing a finger into the catcher's chest protector.Wina Sturgeon
"And look at those girls over there," the woman said, jabbing a finger at my sister's children …Hope Reeves
The robbers then jabbed a gun into Goldberg's back, he told police, and demanded that he hand over his keys.The Miami Herald
2
: to strike (someone or something) with a short straight blow
specifically, sports : to strike (an opponent) with a short straight punch that is delivered with the leading hand
He tried to jab him in the first round, and Ali's head wasn't there. Gilbert Rogin
3
: to pointedly tease or mock (someone)
We joke around. … I was jabbing him about injuries he's had.Sports Illustrated

intransitive verb

1
a
: to prod quickly or abruptly and often repeatedly with or as if with a pointed object
usually used with at
He jabbed at his soufflé with a spoon.P. G. Wodehouse
… repeatedly jabbed at the puck with his stick.Dave Joseph
We all know him or her—the person who stands at the elevator door and jabs at the button three, four, even five times when the car fails to arrive quickly enough.Earl Ubell
"You want to talk about this now?" he snarled, … jabbing at me with his finger.Jack Gantos
b
: to be thrust or driven quickly, abruptly, or forcefully
usually used with into
The needle jabbed into my arm.
… reduces any chance of … keys or coins jabbing into your back when riding.George Hill
2
: to strike a person with a short straight blow
specifically, sports : to throw a short straight punch that is delivered with the leading hand
The fight was barely a contest after the first round, when Spinks stopped moving and jabbing and began fighting with his back to the ropes. William Nack
Bradford jabbed well and made sure that Ali was kept at bay … . Bill Crane
3
: to pointedly tease, mock, or make fun of someone
At a moment's notice, he can produce a months-old editorial cartoon jabbing at him and seems genuinely hurt by the message.The New York Times

jab

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noun

plural jabs
1
: a quick, abrupt, or forceful thrust or stab especially with something pointed : an act of jabbing
gave it a couple of jabs with a stick
specifically : a short straight boxing punch delivered with the leading hand
a quick left jab
… Holmes fired a jab and crossed with a … right that caught Frazier flush in the face. Pat Putnam
Buddy had done a good job of teaching me how to bob and weave and throw a jab. Anthony Quinn
2
: a pointed and often mocking comment or criticism
He has a lot of fun with Ranovic, the oh-so-dramatic, eager young undercover cop who consistently fails to understand Salter's ironic jabs.Jean MacFarlane Wright
Undeterred, McCain continues with his standard stump speech, leaving in all the anti-Bush jabs.Michelle Cottle
3
chiefly British, informal : an injection of something (such as medicine) into one's body with a needle
made an appointment for her second jab
We're averaging 3 million jabs in arms a day.Ali Velshi

Examples of jab in a Sentence

Verb He jabbed at the other player with his hockey stick. The needle jabbed his arm. The needle jabbed into his arm. Noun She gave him a jab in the ribs. He threw a right jab to his opponent's body.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The judges lightly jabbed at Russell for seeming quiet and shy. Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 25 Feb. 2024 Last year alone gave us Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape, depicting the artist in front of an American flag with a matching jacket, their spiky hair practically jabbing into the stripes. David Browne, Rolling Stone, 22 Jan. 2024 At his first appearance, DeSantis jabbed at Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, which holds its primary on Feb. 24. Meg Kinnard, Fortune, 20 Jan. 2024 As the blazing Sun in your social zone jabs at disruptive Uranus in your values sector, a provocation might lead you to an unexpected realization about your self-worth. Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 8 Feb. 2024 And in 2012, he was videotaped yelling and jabbing protesters with his baton at an Occupy Wall Street demonstration. Sam Roberts, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2024 The reps jabbed their ballpoint pens at my heels and scratched notes on clipboards. Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2024 Yes, fellow South Carolinian sort of jabbing at Haley thereby endorsing Trump. ABC News, 21 Jan. 2024 Security cameras captured a rioter near the same area, jabbing a flag and a flagpole as a U.S. Capitol Police officer. Emily Opilo, Baltimore Sun, 11 Jan. 2024
Noun
Biden, in recent months, has sought to reframe the narrative by highlighting his decades of experience, making jokes about his age and taking jabs at Trump’s own rhetorical gaffes. Sara Dorn, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Meyers has taken frequent jabs at Trump, and devoted much of his show before Biden’s appearance to criticizing the former president and Republicans over a controversial court ruling in Alabama that upended in vitro fertilization treatment in the state. Zeke Miller, Fortune, 27 Feb. 2024 Meyers has taken frequent jabs at former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination. Zeke Miller, USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2024 Still, Noah got some good jokes in about Taylor Swift and Meryl Streep (Jo Koy who?), not to mention some spicy jabs at TikTok and AI. Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 5 Feb. 2024 Chew later took a subtle jab at his peers pointing to his company's long-standing safety policies. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 1 Feb. 2024 Still, most of Schiff’s jabs were directed at Garvey to strike a broader contrast between himself and the Republican Party. Andrew Sheeler, Sacramento Bee, 21 Feb. 2024 Mao’s personal jabs at the Soviet leadership did not help matters, either. Oriana Skylar Mastro, Foreign Affairs, 19 Feb. 2024 Hand-ringing about supply chains (and many of the jabs at China)? Courtney Fingar, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jab.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

alteration of job to strike

First Known Use

Verb

1825, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1825, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of jab was in 1825

Dictionary Entries Near jab

Cite this Entry

“Jab.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jab. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

jab

verb
ˈjab
jabbed; jabbing
: to poke quickly or suddenly with or as if with something sharp
jab noun

More from Merriam-Webster on jab

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