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stab

 - 7 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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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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