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 | [e-mail], 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

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