as in pierces
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object
stabbed the pesky leaf with the tines of the rake
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in punctures
a mark or small hole made by a pointed instrument
the injection left a small stab on her upper arm
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stabs
Brent Lang, Variety, 5 Feb. 2026
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
And then there was Belew, enlisted to help bring Fripp’s new guitar sound to life, picking together in intricate rhythmic patterns, like the trick where someone lays their hand on the table and stabs a knife between their fingers at increasingly rapid speeds.
—Sam Sodomsky, Pitchfork, 11 Jan. 2026
The suspect pounces on Ennin while the victim is down and stabs him multiple times before running off.
—Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
After Fiona confesses to killing Willem, a raging Constance stabs Dahlia.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Dec. 2025
Later, Fiona confronts Constance at the Van Ness mansion, where Constance stabs Dahlia in the leg in front of Fiona.
—Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 9 Dec. 2025
After a dramatic confrontation among all parties, Jonah stabs Henry in the chest and shoots him point-blank in the head.
—Claire Franken, TVLine, 18 Sep. 2025
Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 27 Jan. 2026
In rapid fire, five stabs penetrated Rivera’s chest, head, and shoulder.
—Mattha Busby, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2026
There were stabs at horny lounge jazz, a melodramatic Latin guitar ballad, even a folksy blues number.
—Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 18 Oct. 2025
But before that transition takes place, here are a few final stabs at what’s to come for the Timberwolves in the 2025-26 season.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 17 Oct. 2025
That did actually happen, but Van Sant and screenwriter Austin Kolodny make some additional stabs at turning Fred into the spine of the picture, structuring the movie around his broadcasts — a filmmaking convention that doesn’t really bring anything new to this particular story.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2025
Shorter sci-fi stabs meet surging upward flourishes which also link Believe stylistically to disco and Hi-NRG, associating the track with certain gay subcultural histories.
—Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 9 Aug. 2025
While never-ending rounds of press spread into the evening, Monsta X sets a tempo and refuses to waver, cracking jokes and hyping each other up while taking stabs at English.
—Abby Webster, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Verb
Bautista stabs and shoots his assailants in an operatic eruption of violence that is done in a single, extended shot.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 5 Feb. 2026
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
And then there was Belew, enlisted to help bring Fripp’s new guitar sound to life, picking together in intricate rhythmic patterns, like the trick where someone lays their hand on the table and stabs a knife between their fingers at increasingly rapid speeds.
—Sam Sodomsky, Pitchfork, 11 Jan. 2026
The suspect pounces on Ennin while the victim is down and stabs him multiple times before running off.
—Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
After Fiona confesses to killing Willem, a raging Constance stabs Dahlia.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Dec. 2025
Later, Fiona confronts Constance at the Van Ness mansion, where Constance stabs Dahlia in the leg in front of Fiona.
—Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 9 Dec. 2025
After a dramatic confrontation among all parties, Jonah stabs Henry in the chest and shoots him point-blank in the head.
—Claire Franken, TVLine, 18 Sep. 2025
Noun
And Mogen suffered 28 stabs wounds, including on her scalp, face, and neck, and five to her chest, according to the documents.
—Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 27 Jan. 2026
In rapid fire, five stabs penetrated Rivera’s chest, head, and shoulder.
—Mattha Busby, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2026
There were stabs at horny lounge jazz, a melodramatic Latin guitar ballad, even a folksy blues number.
—Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 18 Oct. 2025
But before that transition takes place, here are a few final stabs at what’s to come for the Timberwolves in the 2025-26 season.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 17 Oct. 2025
That did actually happen, but Van Sant and screenwriter Austin Kolodny make some additional stabs at turning Fred into the spine of the picture, structuring the movie around his broadcasts — a filmmaking convention that doesn’t really bring anything new to this particular story.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2025
Shorter sci-fi stabs meet surging upward flourishes which also link Believe stylistically to disco and Hi-NRG, associating the track with certain gay subcultural histories.
—Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 9 Aug. 2025
While never-ending rounds of press spread into the evening, Monsta X sets a tempo and refuses to waver, cracking jokes and hyping each other up while taking stabs at English.
—Abby Webster, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stabs
Verb
-
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
Noun
-
There were also punctures on the outer table of the skull, injuries to the teeth and tongue, and a hemorrhage into the chest cavities, according to the filing.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Its extended durability reflects lessons learned from Curiosity, its predecessor, whose wheels accumulated an increasing number of dings and punctures after encountering terrain sharper and more rugged than anticipated.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
19 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Salah, who had five attempts, has failed to score in his last seven league appearances.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Minnesota made just eight of 33 three-point attempts and committed 20 turnovers while being held under 100 points for just the second time this season.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 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
Noun
-
Only invite friends and relatives who are willing to discuss Bill Belichick and Tom Brady without punches being thrown.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2026
-
From that moment forward, the two Bay State Conference foes traded punches throughout, exchanging one run after the next.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The dominance started on the first possession, when UConn controlled three offensive rebounds, though its effort was fruitless after four tries.—
Joe Arruda,
Hartford Courant,
3 Feb. 2026
-
His goal was the first the team had scored with a man advantage in 27 tries.—
Kalen Lumpkins,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
According to him, the goal is to build a system that modernizes the full lifecycle of a prescription from the moment it’s written to when the patient picks it up, and ideally beyond.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Her top picks for what to turn to instead include burgundy and oxblood.—
Sarah Lyon,
The Spruce,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Choose from 21 colors, from goes-with-everything black to standout prints and textures, including holiday-ready velvet or sequins.—
Alesandra Dubin,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Meanwhile, Weaver reminded us of the coat’s versatility while wearing a goes-with-everything matte black version.—
Shea Simmons,
PEOPLE,
27 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stabs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stabs. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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