stab

[ stab ]
See synonyms for stab on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),stabbed, stab·bing.
  1. to pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon: She stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork.

  2. to thrust, plunge, or jab (a knife, pointed weapon, or the like) into something: He stabbed the knife into the man's chest.

  1. to penetrate sharply or painfully: Their misery stabbed his conscience.

  2. to make a piercing, thrusting, or pointing motion at or in: He stabbed me in the chest with his finger.The speaker stabbed the air in anger.

verb (used without object),stabbed, stab·bing.
  1. to thrust with or as if with a knife or other pointed weapon: to stab at an attacker.

  2. to deliver a wound, as with a pointed weapon.

noun
  1. the act of stabbing.

  2. a thrust or blow with, or as if with, a pointed weapon.

  1. an attempt; try; Make a stab at an answer before giving up.

  2. a wound made by stabbing.

  3. a sudden, brief, and usually painful, sensation: He felt a stab of pain in his foot.A stab of pity ran through her.

Idioms about stab

  1. a stab in the back, an act of treachery.

  2. stab (someone) in the back, to do harm to (someone), especially to a friend or to a person who is unsuspecting or in a defenseless position.

Origin of stab

1
First recorded in 1435–45 for the noun, and in 1525–35 for the verb; Middle English (Scots ) noun stab, stabbe, stappe, of uncertain origin; compare Scots stob “needle, large needle”; verb from the noun

Other words for stab

Other words from stab

  • re·stab, verb, re·stabbed, re·stab·bing.
  • un·stabbed, adjective

Other definitions for stab. (2 of 2)

stab.

abbreviation
  1. stabilization.

  2. stabilizer.

  1. stable.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for stab

stab

/ (stæb) /


verbstabs, stabbing or stabbed
  1. (tr) to pierce or injure with a sharp pointed instrument

  2. (tr) (of a sharp pointed instrument) to pierce or wound: the knife stabbed her hand

  1. (when intr , often foll by at) to make a thrust (at); jab: he stabbed at the doorway

  2. (tr) to inflict with a sharp pain

  3. stab in the back

    • (verb) to do damage to the reputation of (a person, esp a friend) in a surreptitious way

    • (noun) a treacherous action or remark that causes the downfall of or injury to a person

noun
  1. the act or an instance of stabbing

  2. an injury or rift made by stabbing

  1. a sudden sensation, esp an unpleasant one: a stab of pity

  2. informal an attempt (esp in the phrase make a stab at)

Origin of stab

1
C14: from stabbe stab wound; probably related to Middle English stob stick

Derived forms of stab

  • stabber, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with stab

stab

In addition to the idiom beginning with stab

  • stab in the back, a

also see:

  • make a stab at

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.