take a jab at

idiom

: to criticize
In his speech, he took a jab at the senator.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Adam Levine just couldn't resist the urge to take a jab at his former Voice coaching rival Blake Shelton on Monday. Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, 30 Dec. 2020 The new record, with multiple songs referencing women, appears to take a jab at one of the most celebrated rappers in the game, Megan Thee Stallion. Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2022 Later in the segment, while talking about gender-affirming care, Oliver took another opportunity to take a jab at HBO. Kimberly Nordyke, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Oct. 2022 The trope is well known; however, the inversion opened the floor for people to take a jab at the dynamic or to joke about a meme format that has already gone stale. María Luisa Paúl, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2022 The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, was already planning to veto $35 million in state funds to help the Rays build a new training center, but used the occasion to take a jab at the team. New York Times, 6 June 2022 Newsom didn’t miss an opportunity to take a jab at two of his favorite foils: Texas and Florida. Dustin Gardiner, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Mar. 2022 Jalen Hurts was Alabama’s QB in that game, but Tagovailoa couldn’t resist the chance to take a jab at Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins — who played for Clemson. Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 27 Dec. 2021 Asked for comment on the Republicans' use of Trump-era images in the ad, White House spokesman Mike Gwin used the opportunity to take a jab at the former President. Daniel Dale, CNN, 8 Nov. 2021 See More

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

Dictionary Entries Near take a jab at

Cite this Entry

“Take a jab at.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20a%20jab%20at. Accessed 1 Jun. 2023.

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