jab
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A quick stab or blow.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
jabIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdʒæb
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A quick stab or blow; a poking or thrusting motion.
british
A medical hypodermic injection (vaccination or inoculation).
usfigurative
A mild verbal insult.
verb
To poke or thrust abruptly, or to make such a motion.
“He jabbed his finger into her ribs.”
Strike or punch with quick and short blows
To deliver a quick punch.
To make fun of, to mock
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A quick stab or blow; a poking or thrusting motion.
Used this way, jab is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use jab
- “He warned me with a jab with his finger.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to poke or thrust abruptly
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.