stab
/stab
/verb (stabs, stabbing, stabbed) [with object]
1Thrust a knife or other pointed weapon into (someone) so as to wound or kill: he stabbed her in the stomach...
- An older man, probably around forty, had just killed a woman by stabbing her with a knife.
- . Deirdre picks up the paper knife and stabs him with the weapon.
- I don't think we should stab people and kill them.
Synonyms
knife, run through, skewer, spear, bayonet, gore, spike, stick, impale, transfix, pierce, prick, puncture, penetrate, perforate, gash, slash, cut, tear, scratch, wound, injure
rare transpierce
1.1 [no object] Make a thrusting gesture or movement at something with a pointed object: she stabbed at the earth with the fork [with object]: she stabbed the air with her forefinger...
- He let go of my neck and brought it to his eyes, and with his other hand, stabbed wildly into the air.
- Flashes of lightning cut the sky like daggers, staggeringly bright, stabbing down towards the earth like assassins' blades.
- Aislinn and Christopher rose up into the air with the other flyers, swinging their blades and stabbing at the glassy robot eyes.
Synonyms
lunge, thrust, jab, poke, prod, dig
1.2 [no object] (stab into/through) (Of a sharp or pointed object) violently pierce: a sharp end of wicker stabbed into his sole...
- A sharp pinprick or pain stabbed through my left hand, and I jumped, looking down to see the largest mosquito in the world.
- A sharp pain stabbed through Nukurren's ruined eye.
- A blade of light stabbed through the curtains, piercing Jeff Drake's dream.
1.3 [no object] (Of a pain or painful thing) cause a sudden sharp sensation: a stitch stabbed at her side (as adjective stabbing) I felt a stabbing pain in my chest...
- Pain stabbed at her from every direction, and she struggled to maintain her stony face.
- Her heart stabbed with pain as she thought of her father and she turned her attention to the second painting.
- He paused and straightened up, grimacing at the sharp pain stabbing at his lower back.
noun
1A thrust with a knife or other pointed weapon: [as modifier]: multiple stab wounds...
- A knife stab laceration or glass injury to the hand would make exploration of the wound mandatory.
- He survived life threatening stab injuries when knifed in his cell by a prisoner who had been brought overnight for a family visit that day.
- They fell into a steady pattern of parries, stabs, and slashes.
1.1A wound made by stabbing: she had a deep stab in the back...
- Xin was shocked to find that he could not get up and noticed the deep stab from the Elantas sword in his thigh for the first time.
- There were scars from burns, from stabs, slashes, and from his own magic.
- Chopper's toughness shines out while he receives multiple stabs from his best friend in prison early on in the film.
Synonyms
knife wound, puncture, gash, slash, incision, prick, cut, perforation, wound, injury
1.2A thrusting movement with a finger or other pointed object: impatient stabs of his finger...
- Well, it was like stabs with a finger into Cedric's deltoid muscle.
- I overestimated my stab and completely turned over my salad.
- He tucked it between his ear and shoulder and dialed with quick, efficient stabs of his fingertip.
1.3A sudden sharp feeling or pain: she felt a stab of jealousy...
- But when he remembered of Jeannie and Neal being engaged he felt a sharp stab of pain and jealousy somewhere deep inside himself.
- His head throbbed with sharp stabs of pain, he couldn't seem to stop shaking and his breath came in long, shuddering wheezes.
- I went to reach for a second mug, figuring that Aidan might appreciate some coffee as well, when my foot gave a sudden sharp stab of pain.
Synonyms
twinge, pang, ache, throb, spasm, cramp, dart, blaze, prick, flash, thrill, gnawing
1.4(In popular music) a staccato interjected phrase, typically by horns or a keyboard: the fuzz guitar riff is replaced by some slinky brass stabs...
- We build drums, bass, atmospheres and do a lot of work with stabs and massive reverb/delays.
- Bastian puts a contemporary spin on classic soul with beat and horn stabs that punctuate her retro vocal.
- In nine tutorials we lead you through the music-making process, ending with the more detailed layers of musical production (writing lead lines, adding stabs and other effects).
2 (stab at) informal An attempt to do (something): Meredith made a feeble stab at joining in...
- You may take a stab at guessing what happens, and you may be close, but probably a little off.
- Unfortunately that goal was missed by a mere 75 minutes thanks to the elements conspiring against her, but undeterred she is pressing on with another stab at it in November.
- Daredevil entrepreneur Richard Branson will get another stab at an unusual flight on Saturday, when a replica of the first manned glider to take to the air sets off down a Yorkshire dale.
Synonyms
attempt, try, effort, endeavour;
guess
informal go, shot, crack, bash, whack
formal essay
Phrases
a stab in the back
stab someone in the back
a stab in the dark
Derivatives
stabber
- Both the suspected stabber and victim of the attack are from Laois and were thought to have been at a nightclub in the town.
- They contended that the scientific evidence pointed to Miller, not Rahman, as the stabber - evidence that should have precluded capital punishment.
- You can only find that he did the act of murder if he was himself the stabber or took part in what he knew at the time it was happening was a knife attack
Origin
Late Middle English: of unknown origin.
Rhymes
- rubber cement
- rubber-cemented
- rubber cheque
- rubber-chicken
- rubber dam
- rubber dinghy
- rubber duck
- rubber ducker
- rubber ducky
- rubbered
- rubber fetish
- rubber fetishism
- rubber game
- rubber goods
- rubber gum
- rubber heel
- rubber ice
- rubberiness
- rubberisation
- rubberise
- rubberization
- rubberize
- rubber johnny
- rubber kite
- rubber latex