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
-
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
-
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
-
are stabbingprogressive
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is stabbingprogressive
-
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:
Depending on the species, chelicerae can function as pincers or fangs that grip, pierce, or stab prey.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
In “Disclosure Day,” he takes another stab at demonstrating that there is no limit to the universe’s wonders.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 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
"Abandon the direct negotiations... Don't be with them and stab us in the back," Qassem said.
From Barron's ● May 24, 2026
He glanced at his father’s exhausted face from under his eyelashes and felt a stab of guilt, coupled with shame.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
“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
"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
“Urchin” is energetic and filled with life: funny asides, tiny joys, stabs of recognition and flourishes of visual psychedelia.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2025
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
Susan Necheles, the only woman on Trump’s legal team in the Manhattan hush money case, repeatedly took stabs at Daniel’s credibility during Thursday's cross examination, seeking to portray her as self-serving and unreliable.
From Salon ● May 10, 2024
A low ball in the right is met by Gabriel Sara, who stabs home at the near post.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2024
TMa aha gripped with toe fury of hysteria, but he patiently disentangled her without minding the stabs.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
In the four years since her father was fatally stabbed near the entrance of their home in northern Israel, 10-year-old Shireen has carried the burden of grief on her tiny shoulders.
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
In one version circulating, attributed to a source in the VA police, she had already been stabbed by the time she arrived at the VA.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
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
I just stare; I can’t believe that my best friend stabbed a troll.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
"It is like a stabbing pain, a very very heavy stabbing pain," she says.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
I missed my target entirely, stabbing the hunk of hay more than a foot away from the bull’s-eye.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
U.K. officials have rebuffed the criticism, with Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy pointing out that the attacker was British and saying the stabbing had nothing to do with immigration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
The New York Police Department said it would not increase security specifically at Penn Station because of Sunday's stabbing.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
Sheed’s pointer finger shot toward a particular cloud in a jerky stabbing motion.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
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.
