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stab

 - 8 dictionary results

stab

  [stab] ,verb, stabbed, stab⋅bing, noun
Use stab in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
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.
3. to penetrate sharply or painfully: Their misery stabbed his conscience.
4. 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)
5. to thrust with or as if with a knife or other pointed weapon: to stab at an attacker.
6. to deliver a wound, as with a pointed weapon.
–noun
7. the act of stabbing.
8. a thrust or blow with, or as if with, a pointed weapon.
9. an attempt; try: Make a stab at an answer before giving up.
10. a wound made by stabbing.
11. a sudden, brief, and usually painful, sensation: He felt a stab of pain in his foot. A stab of pity ran through her.
—Idioms
12. stab in the back, an act of treachery.
13. stab (someone) in the back, to do harm to (someone), esp. to a friend or to a person who is unsuspecting or in a defenseless position.
Origin:
1325–75; (v.) ME (Scots) stabben < ?; (n.) late ME, akin to or deriv. of the v.; cf. Scots stob stub 1

Synonyms:
1. spear, penetrate, pin, transfix.

stab.

 
1. stabilization.
2. stabilizer.
3. stable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To stab
stab   (stāb)   
v.   stabbed, stab·bing, stabs

v.   tr.

  1. To pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon.

  2. To plunge (a pointed weapon or instrument) into something.

  3. To make a thrusting or poking motion at or into: stabbed the air with his fingers.

v.   intr.

  1. To thrust with or as if with a pointed weapon: stabbed at the food with her fork.

  2. To inflict a wound with or as if with a pointed weapon.

n.  

  1. A thrust with a pointed weapon or instrument.

  2. A wound inflicted with or as if with a pointed weapon.

  3. A sudden piercing pain.

  4. An attempt; a try: made a stab at the answer.


[Middle English stabben.]
stab'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.
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Word Origin & History

stab  (v.)
1375, first attested in Scottish Eng., apparently a dial. variant of Scottish stob "to pierce, stab," of uncertain origin, perhaps a variant of stub (n.) "stake, nail." The noun meaning "wound produced by stabbing" is first attested c.1440. Fig. use, of emotions, etc., is from 1594. Meaning "a try" first recorded 1895, Amer.Eng. Stab in the back "treacherous deed" is first attested 1916.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1stab
Pronunciation: 'stab
Function: noun
1 : a wound produced by a pointed weapon
2 a : a culture mediumsolidified in an upright column in a tube to reduce the surface to a minimum —compare SLANT b : STAB CULTURE

Main Entry: 2stab
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: stabbed; stab·bing
: to wound or pierce by the thrust of a pointed weapon
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Computing Dictionary

STAB language
A descendent of BCPL.
(1996-08-25)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Idioms & Phrases

stab

In addition to the idiom beginning with stab, also see make a stab at.

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