jackleg 1 of 2

adjective

ˈjak-ˌleg How to pronounce jackleg (audio)
Definition of jacklegnext
1
as in amateur
being such only for recreation a toolshed that can be built by any jackleg carpenter who's capable of hitting a nail without smashing his thumb

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in inexperienced
lacking or showing a lack of expert skill he did such a jackleg installation of that door frame that now the door won't shut

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in corrupt
having or showing lowered moral character or standards a jackleg lawyer whose clients consist mainly of drug dealers and child molesters

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

jackleg

2 of 2

noun

as in kid
a person who lacks experience and competence in an art or science you can't rely on a bunch of jacklegs to run your dairy farm

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for jackleg
  1. amateur
  2. inexperienced
  3. corrupt
  4. kid
  5. degraded
  6. beginner
  7. sick
Adjective
  • Adell has spent his entire career with the Angels after being the 10th overall pick in the 2017 amateur draft.
    — David Brandt, Chicago Tribune, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Meanwhile, the lab has turned into a record label, with local musicians, many of them amateur, making records through collaborations with the lab.
    — Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, ARTnews.com, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of amateur
Adjective
  • His successor is inexperienced Indiana transfer Alberto Mendoza.
    — Michael Cunningham, AJC.com, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Prongos is still understandably inexperienced in several areas and needs to get stronger.
    — Dane Brugler, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of inexperienced
Adjective
  • His new documentary takes on the cryptocurrency industry, portraying the controversial digital currency as corrupt and in dire need of more regulations.
    — Brent Lang, Variety, 3 Aug. 2026
  • At its core, the crime known as huachicol fiscal is a vast tax evasion scheme centered on falsified paperwork — and corrupt officials.
    — Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of corrupt
Noun
  • The kids are now older and played by different actors (Emma Ho and Gabriel Barbosa).
    — William Earl, Variety, 8 Aug. 2026
  • The idea is that keeping their community healthy will keep kids in school learning.
    — Michael Abeyta, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of kid
Adjective
  • Devastating fires across Canada have blown smoke deep into dense US population centers in recent weeks and degraded air quality.
    — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Meet the chicken kidney sponge, a true ecosystem engineer that could use its filter-feeding power to clean the degraded habitats in and around busy harbors.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 30 July 2026
Definition of degraded
Noun
  • Founder Megan Masters fell in love with mahjong in 2023, but found the sets expensive and overwhelming for beginners.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Falls are another injury risk beginners underestimate, according to Ryan Glatt, CPT, NBC-HWC, a senior brain health coach at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, California.
    — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of beginner
Adjective
  • People without risk factors generally do not get sick or display symptoms from Candida auris.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The river boat passenger had become sick and disembarked nearly three weeks ago in Pimu, in the province of Mongala, more than 1,000 kilometers from Kinshasa along the Congo River, Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said on Thursday.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of sick
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

jackknives
jackleg
jacklegs
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Jackleg.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jackleg. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on jackleg

Nglish: Translation of jackleg for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All