Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To poke or thrust abruptly.
- intransitive verb To stab or pierce.
- intransitive verb To punch (someone) with short straight blows.
- intransitive verb To make an abrupt poking or thrusting motion.
- intransitive verb To deliver a short straight punch.
- noun A quick stab or blow.
- noun Sports A short straight punch in boxing.
- noun Informal A hypodermic injection.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To strike with the end or point of something; thrust the end of something against or into; poke.
- To strike with the end or point of; thrust: as, to
jab a stick against a person; to jab a cane into or through a picture. - noun A stroke with the point or end of something; a thrust.
- noun Nautical, a net used in catching the fry of fish.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb Scot. & Colloq. U. S. To thrust; to stab; to punch. See
job , v. t. - noun Scot. & Colloq. U. S. A thrust or stab.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A quick stab or blow
- noun boxing A short straight punch.
- noun UK A medical
injection . - noun US, figuratively A verbal annoyance.
- verb To poke or thrust abruptly, or to make such a motion.
- verb To deliver a quick punch.
- verb slang, UK To give someone an injection
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb poke or thrust abruptly
- noun a quick short straight punch
- noun the act of touching someone suddenly with your finger or elbow
- verb stab or pierce
- verb strike or punch with quick and short blows
- noun a sharp hand gesture (resembling a blow)
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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McMaster's jab is notable because the rest of the Republican candidates for governor – not wanting to be weighed down by the Sanford saga - have so far tread lightly when handling questions about the governor.
SC Republican gov candidate jabs Sanford in announcement 2009
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Besides the mandatory record label jab, all of Black Thought's punches are directed at himself, being a better man, seeking a stronger deity.
Derek Beres: Global Beat Fusion: How the Roots Got Over 2010
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I am disappointed to see that negativity upheld by Non Sequitur, but I have to admit that jab is well deserved by the slobs who use the anonymity and remoteness of the field to conduct themselves poorly.
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One problem with the jab is that in some Heartland cities – whose values Jamie is supposed to stand for – Ann Taylor stores are the most stylish in town.
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One problem with the jab is that in some Heartland cities – whose values Jamie is supposed to stand for – Ann Taylor stores are the most stylish in town.
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A friendly political jab is a small price to pay to avoid a ticket.
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Moore's parting jab is that Goss granted the interview with Moore's producers without bothering to check who they were working for.
08/12/2004 2004
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But the Elián jab is more like a haymaker, replicating Alan Diaz's famous Associated Press photo of the closet invasion, with Yogi and BooBoo in the starring roles.
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I must say, though, that Americans typically manage pronunciation of "un-Englished" words better than Australians do - and much better than most British speakers, many of whom will say "Poonjab" with a second syllable like the English word "jab", not with the more correct "jahb".
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Other infections which the injections guard against are MMR and the controversial cervical cancer jab, which is for girls only.
Landmark U.S. Study: Delaying Child’s Vaccinations May Do Harm | Impact Lab 2010
jmjarmstrong commented on the word jab
JM has been to the acupuncturist – that’s a jab well done.
May 25, 2011