as in stabs
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object
jabbed a pickle and tossed it on the plate
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of jabs
Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026
The Chicago Cubs started the fall with some jabs, signing a handful of relievers to create a deeper bullpen.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2026
The pediatricians’ group also continues to recommend the long-standing practice of a single shot combining the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and varicella vaccines in order to limit the number of jabs children get.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
The potential candidate is increasingly taking jabs at the mayor, including in December as the mayor criticized investor Michael Sacks for helping to bankroll opposition to his corporate head tax proposal.
—Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
Upon announcing Threads, Zuckerberg took jabs at Musk on X, posting the meme of two identical Spider-Mans pointing at one another.
—Conor Murray, Forbes.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Throughout the outage, T-Mobile and AT&T took jabs at their competitor on social media, while also touching on why some of their customers might be encountering issues.
—David Chiu, PEOPLE, 15 Jan. 2026
After making history last year as the first woman to host solo, Glaser is surely cooking up some blush-inducing zingers to top last year's viral jabs.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Jan. 2026
Sophomore Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser, whose searing opening monologue had everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio to Julia Roberts taking jabs in stride.
—Alli Rosenbloom, CNN Money, 11 Jan. 2026
Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Haggard jabs Baird over mailers The race is already tense.
—Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar, 13 Aug. 2025
Noun
In addition to OpenAI running an ad, its competitor Anthropic is airing its first Super Bowl commercial about its Claude system and lobbing jabs at OpenAI about its addition of ads into ChatGPT.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026
The Chicago Cubs started the fall with some jabs, signing a handful of relievers to create a deeper bullpen.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2026
The pediatricians’ group also continues to recommend the long-standing practice of a single shot combining the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and varicella vaccines in order to limit the number of jabs children get.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
The potential candidate is increasingly taking jabs at the mayor, including in December as the mayor criticized investor Michael Sacks for helping to bankroll opposition to his corporate head tax proposal.
—Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
Upon announcing Threads, Zuckerberg took jabs at Musk on X, posting the meme of two identical Spider-Mans pointing at one another.
—Conor Murray, Forbes.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Throughout the outage, T-Mobile and AT&T took jabs at their competitor on social media, while also touching on why some of their customers might be encountering issues.
—David Chiu, PEOPLE, 15 Jan. 2026
After making history last year as the first woman to host solo, Glaser is surely cooking up some blush-inducing zingers to top last year's viral jabs.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Jan. 2026
Sophomore Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser, whose searing opening monologue had everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio to Julia Roberts taking jabs in stride.
—Alli Rosenbloom, CNN Money, 11 Jan. 2026
Verb
Srinivas, who often jabs the search engine giant, made an interesting point.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Haggard jabs Baird over mailers The race is already tense.
—Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jabs
Noun
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Located just 30 minutes from downtown Vancouver, Cypress Mountain is more of a commuter hill than a destination resort, but its terrain punches well above its weight.—
Brent Rose,
Condé Nast Traveler,
1 Feb. 2026
-
But one of the punches knocked Miller’s head backward, and his hairpiece popped upward from the front, revealing a large bald spot that covered most of his head.—
Isabel Yip,
NBC news,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Milo tries to be a hero, trying to use pepper spray on Morgan, but Morgan stabs and kills him.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Percy, now carrying the Golden Fleece, runs toward the elevator, but Luke stabs him through the closing doors.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Last weekend, while hosting the 2026 Grammy Awards, comedian Trevor Noah took digs at her in front of music's biggest stars.—
Taylor Ardrey,
USA Today,
3 Feb. 2026
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The boutique hotel sits on eight acres fronting a prime sliver of pink-sand beach, with a total of 41 accommodations, including seafront and garden cottages, the main inn, and stand-alone beachside residences, so guests can choose digs that fit their travel vibe.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
But Anderson punctures his weed haze with the bright light of a past that in actuality never dimmed, when Lockjaw begins to hunt Pat and Willa.—
Angelica Jade Bastién,
Vulture,
24 Nov. 2025
-
Recounting his visit with Shelton’s body after she’d been taken off of life support in From Bleak to Dark, Maron punctures the somber scene with a joke about taking a selfie.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Pepsi has for decades taken pokes at rival Coke in an endless array of commercials, but this time, the youth-skewing cola company really means business.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
29 Jan. 2026
-
A lot of times, these hot-button issues that are pressed, those little pokes, are more nuanced than they’re portrayed.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Nnaji and picks for Jones might sound pretty nice to Denver fans, but basketball reasons aside, why would the Magic agree to that when its goal would also be to decrease payroll?—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
1 Feb. 2026
-
The three-team deal included the Chicago Bulls, who received veteran Dario Saric and future second-round draft picks from Sacramento and Cleveland.—
HECTOR AMEZCUA,
Sacbee.com,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Nothing that pierces the skin should ever be used as leverage over a child's opportunity to education and to learn.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
12 Dec. 2025
-
Nicole Kidman's stare pierces the room.—
Jennifer Brett,
Nashville Tennessean,
16 Nov. 2025
Verb
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But this is not the substance of the speech that sticks.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Consistently entertaining and loopy (pardon the pun) Tales From the Loop is a visual feast that hits the ground running and sticks the landing.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Jabs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jabs. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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