jibed; jibing
: to be in accord : agree
—usually used with with
a story that doesn't jibe with the facts
variant spelling of gibe
: to utter taunting words
: to deride or tease with taunting words
boxers gibing each other before a fight
variants
or less commonly gybe
jibed also gybed; jibing also gybing
1
: to shift suddenly and forcibly from one side to the other
—used of a fore-and-aft sail or its boom
was the most amazed when he saw me work the boat to and again in the sea by the rudder, and how the sail jibed, and filled this way or that way as the course we sailed changed—
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoethe cutter had lost all four foremost men by the violent jibing of a boom—Herman Melville
Herman Melville2
: to change a vessel's course when sailing with the wind so that as the stern passes through the eye of the wind the boom swings to the opposite side
: to cause (a sail or vessel) to jibe
this maneuver was bound to force her to jibe her mainsail from one side to the other—Jack London
Jack London
jibe
noun
or less commonly gybe
Did you know?
Jive vs. Jibe
People began confusing jive and jibe almost immediately after jive entered our language in the late 1920s. In particular, jive is often used as a variant for the sense of jibe meaning “agree,” as in “that doesn’t jive with my memory of what happened.” This use of jive, although increasingly common, is widely considered to be an error. Jibe, however, is accepted as a variant spelling of an entirely different word, which is gibe (“to utter taunting words”).
Examples of jibe in a Sentence
Verb (1)
that doesn't jibe with what I know about his character
Recent Examples on the Web
Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2025
Tinkering with the high-IQ catching tandem of Martin Maldonado and Elias Dias may not jibe with the team’s emphasis on run prevention.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 May 2025
His online behavior toward those who oppose the board’s words and actions does not appear to jibe with those statements, Shiflett said.
—Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2025
In another clip posted by Netflix, Cooper watches back an audition tape with Doherty, who proceeds to jibe him about his hairstyle.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for jibe
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Verb
But such practices didn’t jibe with increasingly modern economies, and colonialists, especially in North America, saw burning as both barbaric and a threat to industrialized capitalism.
—Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2025
Tinkering with the high-IQ catching tandem of Martin Maldonado and Elias Dias may not jibe with the team’s emphasis on run prevention.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 May 2025
His online behavior toward those who oppose the board’s words and actions does not appear to jibe with those statements, Shiflett said.
—Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2025
In another clip posted by Netflix, Cooper watches back an audition tape with Doherty, who proceeds to jibe him about his hairstyle.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for jibe
Cite this Entry
“Jibe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jibe. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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