stab
verb (used with object)
to pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon.
stab
1 American
[stab]
/ stæb /
verb (used with object)
-
stabs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stabbed,
past participle, past
-
stabbing
present participle
-
to pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon.
She stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork.
-
to thrust, plunge, or jab (a knife, pointed weapon, or the like) into something.
He stabbed the knife into the man's chest.
-
to penetrate sharply or painfully.
Their misery stabbed his conscience.
-
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)
-
stabs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stabbed,
past participle, past
-
stabbing
present participle
-
to thrust with or as if with a knife or other pointed weapon.
to stab at an attacker.
-
to deliver a wound, as with a pointed weapon.
noun
-
stabs
plural
idioms
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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.
-
a stab in the back, an act of treachery.
stab.
2
American
abbreviation
-
stabilization.
-
stabilizer.
-
stable.
stab
British
/ stæb /
verb
-
(tr) to pierce or injure with a sharp pointed instrument
-
(tr) (of a sharp pointed instrument) to pierce or wound
the knife stabbed her hand
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to make a thrust (at); jab
he stabbed at the doorway
-
(tr) to inflict with a sharp pain
-
-
(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
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the act or an instance of stabbing
-
an injury or rift made by stabbing
-
a sudden sensation, esp an unpleasant one
a stab of pity
-
informal an attempt (esp in the phrase make a stab at )
stab
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stabsimple
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stabssimple
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have stabbedperfect
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has stabbedperfect
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am stabbingprogressive
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are stabbingprogressive
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is stabbingprogressive
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have been stabbingperfect progressive
-
has been stabbingperfect progressive
Past
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stabbedsimple
-
had stabbedperfect
-
was stabbingprogressive
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were stabbingprogressive
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had been stabbingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stab
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
Explanation
To stab is to thrust or jab something sharp, the way you stab your sandwich with a toothpick or the way Brutus (and others) stab Julius Caesar in Shakespeare's play. You can stab at the soil in your garden with a trowel or stab the steak on your plate with a fork. You might then experience a stab (or sharp feeling) of regret, wondering if you should become a vegetarian. When you "take a stab at something," you attempt it: "I decided to take a stab at opera singing." Stab comes from the Scottish stob, "to pierce."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Now let me take a stab at translating what it found:
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
His police badge and stab vest were found scattered along the route.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Depending on the species, chelicerae can function as pincers or fangs that grip, pierce, or stab prey.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
Adopting a psychedelic-rock aesthetic, “Casket” was another stab at optimism; Brock wanted to create something intentionally upbeat to sweeten the sour, post-pandemic mood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
Pong felt a stab of sadness for Father Cham.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
"Let me hazard a wild stab. One is for Robb Stark, the others for Lords Stannis and Renly. Would that be right?"
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
“That is more difficult. The English, they do not stab. You are right there. I incline to the view that someone else dropped the pipe cleaner—and did so to incriminate the long-legged Englishman.”
From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie
“If you have a friend that stabs you in the back, that’s the way it was with what I had been taught about history,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
“Tell me who’s to blame — is it the people or myself?” she wonders against the icy synth stabs of the title track.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Monty Norman's surf guitar riff and John Barry's sweeping orchestral scores spawned an entire genre of spy music – full of minor key suspense and piercing stabs of trumpet.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
Certainly he and his team have given it their all; the time they’ve put in and their stabs at various compromises have been impressive.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2024
Avoiding the stabs of the banner pole and the swift whiplike slashes of the tail, Basil realized that this was no clumsy rat he faced.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
The Sheriff’s Department did not make clear whether the deputy who was stabbed also shot the suspect.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026
Above all, we learn our lessons when we make misjudgments rather than claim we have been stabbed in the back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
It comes as Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis joined calls for a temporary ban on the marches, after two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green on Wednesday.
From BBC ● May 1, 2026
Two victims - a mother who saved her baby in her dying moments and a security guard who was fatally stabbed on his first day shift - will receive posthumous awards.
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026
“Ah, I’m not sure what that is. But this—“he stabbed the console of buttons—“now this is solar radiation.”
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
In June, Musk again weighed heavily into British politics following the stabbing death of an 18-year-old white student named Henry Nowak.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Those faulty messages can produce shooting, stabbing or burning sensations.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
In December 2024, Badea and Stana were extradited from Romania to stand trial for the stabbing, but Andrei could not be extradited because he had to first face legal proceedings in Romania.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
Musk, the billionaire owner of X, has posted numerous times on the platform about the police response to the stabbing.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
My heart was pounding, my lungs burned, and in my side there was a continuous stabbing pain.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
