Thesaurus results for STABS

stabs 1 of 2

verb

Definition of stabs next

present tense third-person singular of stab

as in pierces

to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object stabbed the pesky leaf with the tines of the rake

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stabs

2 of 2

noun

plural of stab

as in punctures

a mark or small hole made by a pointed instrument the injection left a small stab on her upper arm

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as in attempts

an effort to do or accomplish something everybody will get a stab at solving the problem

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of stabs

Verb

The shower curtain opens, revealing an old woman, who stabs and decapitates Mary. —

Therie Hendrey-Seabrook, Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Mar. 2026 But this person who was a friend, who owes her career to me, just stabs me in the back. —

Maer Roshan, HollywoodReporter, 10 Mar. 2026 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 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

Noun

While a warm, four-bar bassline chugs alongside dubby stabs and bouncy swells, BEA1991’s vocals switch from nonchalant monotone to falsetto in a way that sounds like an involuntary yelp of joy. —

Reid Bg, Pitchfork, 28 Apr. 2026 His tight chord stabs, jazzy voicings and glinting tone are an indelible sonic signature, up there with Louis Armstrong’s trumpet blasts and Aretha Franklin’s rolling, tolling gospel piano. —

New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026 But his cartoons, and some early stabs at photography, were not enough to get him into a local art school. —

Chris Wiley, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2026 New Line has taken stabs at developing a sequel with Heisserer and Chris Borrelli penning scripts over the years. —

Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 27 Mar. 2026 Production quirks like volume and pitch changes, multiple beat switches, brash sonic redirections punctuated by everything from samples of glass shattering to synth stabs puncturing through sheaths of filters, make for a kind of chaotic symphony that feels deliriously of the moment. —

Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026 With a funky groove, ‘80s synthesizer stabs, party noises and a put-your-hands-in-the-air-wooo! —

Jem Aswad, Variety, 4 Mar. 2026 The spaces get smaller and smaller as the shark approaches, radiating a sense of that closing distance until the string stabs cut into the listener like so many glistening teeth. —

Alex Galbraith, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Feb. 2026 Dress shoe hybrids are also becoming more common in the wider world of sneakers, with Nike, Saucony and more taking their stabs at the trend. —

Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 11 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stabs

Verb

Lockwood’s music instills joy in listening, and such revitalized desire leaves your body freshly tender, sensitive to whatever pierces the ear.

— Joshua Minsoo Kim, Pitchfork, 28 Apr. 2026
Its 1959 Googie-style sign pierces the sky, a beacon of hope for weary road-trippers cruising this achingly lonely stretch of highway.

— Zoey Goto, Travel + Leisure, 8 Mar. 2026