Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Nearby Words

jib

 - 12 dictionary results

jib

1[jib]
–noun Nautical.
1. any of various triangular sails set forward of a forestaysail or fore-topmast staysail. Compare flying jib, inner jib.
2. the inner one of two such sails, set inward from a flying jib.
–adjective
3. of or pertaining to a jib: jib clew.
4. cut of one's jib, one's general appearance, mien, or manner: I could tell by the cut of his jib that he wasn't the kind of person I'd want to deal with.

Origin:
1655–65; orig. uncert.

jib

2[jib] verb (used without object), verb (used with object), jibbed, jib⋅bing, noun Nautical
jibe 1 .
Also, jibb.

jib

3[jib] verb, jibbed, jib⋅bing, noun Chiefly British
–verb (used without object)
1. to move restively sidewise or backward instead of forward, as an animal in harness; balk.
2. to balk at doing something; defer action; procrastinate.
–noun
3. a horse or other animal that jibs.

Origin:
1805–15; perh. special use of jib 2


jibber, noun

jib

4[jib]
–noun
1. the projecting arm of a crane.
2. the boom of a derrick.

Origin:
1755–65; appar. short for gibbet

jibe

1[jahyb] verb, jibed, jib⋅ing, noun Nautical
–verb (used without object)
1. to shift from one side to the other when running before the wind, as a fore-and-aft sail or its boom.
2. to alter course so that a fore-and-aft sail shifts in this manner.
–verb (used with object)
3. to cause to jibe.
–noun
4. the act of jibing.
Also, gibe, gybe, jib, jibb.


Origin:
1685–95; var. of gybe < D gijben, more commonly gijpen
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To jib
jib 1   (jĭb)   
n.  
  1. Nautical A triangular sail stretching from the foretopmast head to the jib boom and in small craft to the bowsprit or the bow.

    1. The arm of a mechanical crane.

    2. The boom of a derrick.


[Origin unknown.]
jib 2   (jĭb)   
intr.v.   jibbed, jib·bing, jibs
To stop short and turn restively from side to side; balk.

[Origin unknown.]
jib'ber n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
jibe [dʒɑɪb]

  1. in.
    to agree; to be in harmony. (See also track.) : Your story just doesn't jibe with the facts.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

jib 
"foresail of a ship," 1661, gibb, of uncertain origin, perhaps related to gibbet, from notion of a sail "hanging" from a masthead. Or perhaps from jib (v.) "shift a sail or boom" (1693), from Du. gijben, apparently related to gijk "boom or spar of a sailing ship." Said to indicate a ship's character to an observant sailor as a strange vessel approaches at sea; also nautical slang for "face," hence cut of his jib.

jibe 
"agree, fit," 1813, of unknown origin, perhaps a figurative extension of earlier jib (v.) "shift a sail or boom" (see jib). OED, however, suggests a phonetic variant of chime, as if meaning "to chime in with, to be in harmony."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Idioms & Phrases

jib

see cut of one's jib

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia

jib

in sailing ships, triangular sail rigged to a stay extending from the foremast, or foretopmast, to the bowsprit or to a spar, the jibboom, that is an extension of the bowsprit. The jib is first known to have been used on one-masted vessels. Its use began to spread about 1600 and extended to larger war vessels about 1700. Jibs proved handy in helping to steer and were much valued-e.g., on the square-rigger, as a means of better close-hauled sailing and of setting extra sail with comparatively little labour demand. In some ships the number of jibs reached five or more, and often the jibboom itself required an extension, the flying jibboom, to carry them.

Learn more about jib with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see jib on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: