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• jack
  jack

  noun

  any of various portable devices for raising or lifting heavy objects short heights, using various mechanical, pneumatic, or hydraulic methods.
• Jack
  Jack

  noun

  a male given name, form of Jacob or John.

jack

¹ American  

[jak] / dʒæk /

noun

1. any of various portable devices for raising or lifting heavy objects short heights, using various mechanical, pneumatic, or hydraulic methods.

2. Also called knave.  Cards. a playing card bearing the picture of a soldier or servant.

3. Electricity. a connecting device in an electrical circuit designed for the insertion of a plug.

4. Informal. Jack, fellow; buddy; man (usually used in addressing a stranger).

   Hey, Jack, which way to Jersey?

5. Also called jackstone.  Games.

   1. one of a set of small metal objects having six prongs, used in the game of jacks.

   2. one of any other set of objects, as pebbles, stones, etc., used in the game of jacks.

   3. (used with a singular verb) jacks, a children's game in which small metal objects, stones, pebbles, or the like, are tossed, caught, and moved on the ground in a number of prescribed ways, usually while bouncing a rubber ball.

6. any of several carangid fishes, especially of the genus Caranx, as C. hippos crevalle jack, or jack crevalle, of the western Atlantic Ocean.

7. Slang. money.

   He won a lot of jack at the races.

8. Slang: Vulgar. jack shit.

9. Nautical.

   1. a small flag flown at the jack staff of a ship, bearing a distinctive design usually symbolizing the nationality of the vessel.

   2. Also called jack crosstree.  either of a pair of crosstrees at the head of a topgallant mast, used to hold royal shrouds away from the mast.

10. Jack, a sailor.

11. lumberjack.

12. applejack.

13. jack rabbit.

14. jackass.

15. jacklight.

16. a device for turning a spit.

17. a small wooden rod in the mechanism of a harpsichord, spinet, or virginal that rises when the key is depressed and causes the attached plectrum to strike the string.

18. Lawn Bowling. a small, usually white bowl or ball used as a mark for the bowlers to aim at.

19. Also called clock jack.  Horology. a mechanical figure that strikes a clock bell.

20. a premigratory young male salmon.

21. Theater. brace jack.

22. Falconry. the male of a kestrel, hobby, or especially of a merlin.

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verb (used with object)

1. to lift or move (something) with or as if with a jack (usually followed byup ).

   to jack a car up to change a flat tire.

2. Informal. to increase, raise, or accelerate (prices, wages, speed, etc.) (usually followed byup ).

3. Informal. to boost the morale of; encourage (usually followed byup ).

4. Slang. to mess up, ruin, or injure (usually followed byup ): I jacked my shoulder when I fell.

   The paint job was all jacked up.

   I jacked my shoulder when I fell.

5. to jacklight.

verb (used without object)

1. to jacklight.

adjective

1. Carpentry. having a height or length less than that of most of the others in a structure; cripple.

   jack rafter; jack truss.

verb phrase

1. jack up to give oneself an injection of a controlled substance.

   After 30 heroin-free days, he was let out for the afternoon and came straight to my door, begging to jack up.

2. jack off to masturbate.

idioms

1. every man jack, everyone without exception.

   They presented a formidable opposition, every man jack of them.

jack ² American  

[jak] / dʒæk /

verb (used with object)

Slang.

1. to steal: Hackers jacked my email account in a phishing scam.

   Some neighborhood kids jacked her car and took it for a joyride.

   Hackers jacked my email account in a phishing scam.

2. to rob.

   He got jacked on his way home from the club.

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jack ³ American  

[jak] / dʒæk /

noun

1. jackfruit.

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jack ⁴ American  

[jak] / dʒæk /

noun

1. a defensive coat, usually of leather, worn in medieval times by foot soldiers and others.

2. a container for liquor, originally of waxed leather coated with tar.

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Jack ⁵ American  

[jak] / dʒæk /

noun

1. a male given name, form of Jacob or John.

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jack ¹ British  

/ dʒæk /

noun

1. a man or fellow

2. a sailor

3. the male of certain animals, esp of the ass or donkey

4. a mechanical or hydraulic device for exerting a large force, esp to raise a heavy weight such as a motor vehicle

5. any of several mechanical devices that replace manpower, such as a contrivance for rotating meat on a spit

6. one of four playing cards in a pack, one for each suit, bearing the picture of a young prince; knave

7. bowls a small usually white bowl at which the players aim with their own bowls

8. electrical engineering a female socket with two or more terminals designed to receive a male plug ( jack plug ) that either makes or breaks the circuit or circuits

9. a flag, esp a small flag flown at the bow of a ship indicating the ship's nationality Compare Union Jack

10. nautical either of a pair of crosstrees at the head of a topgallant mast used as standoffs for the royal shrouds

11. a part of the action of a harpsichord, consisting of a fork-shaped device on the end of a pivoted lever on which a plectrum is mounted

12. any of various tropical and subtropical carangid fishes, esp those of the genus Caranx, such as C. hippos ( crevalle jack )

13. Also called: jackstone.  one of the pieces used in the game of jacks

14. short for applejack bootjack jackass jackfish jack rabbit lumberjack

15. a slang word for money

16. everyone without exception

17. slang venereal disease

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adjective

1. slang tired or fed up with (something)

verb

1. to lift or push (an object) with a jack

2. electrical engineering to connect (an electronic device) with another by means of a jack and a jack plug

3. Also: jacklight.  to hunt (fish or game) by seeking them out or dazzling them with a flashlight

Jack ² British  

/ dʒæk /

noun

1. informal

   1. a remark indicating smug and complacent selfishness

   2. ( as modifier )

      an ``I'm all right, Jack'' attitude

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jack ³ British  

/ dʒæk /

noun

1. a short sleeveless coat of armour of the Middle Ages, consisting usually of a canvas base with metal plates

2. archaic a drinking vessel, often of leather

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jack ⁴ British  

/ dʒæk /

noun

1. short for jackfruit

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jack More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing jack

• before you can say Jack Robinson

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Etymology

Origin of jack¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English jakke, Jakke used in addressing any male, especially a social inferior, variant of Jakken, variant of Jankin, equivalent to Jan “John” + -kin diminutive suffix; extended in sense to anything male, and as a designation for a variety of inanimate objects; see origin at John, -kin

Origin of jack²

First recorded in 1930–35; shortening of hijack ( def. )

Origin of jack³

First recorded in 1605–15; from Portuguese jaca, from Malayalam cakka

Origin of jack⁴

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English jakke, from Middle French jaque(s), “short, plain upper garment,” probably after jacques “peasant” ( see Jacquerie)

Explanation

If you're ever stranded beside the highway with a flat tire, what you need is a jack and a spare tire. With a jack, you can lift the car slightly off the ground and change the tire. Most cars have an emergency jack in the trunk, and repair shops have larger jacks, sometimes called "garage jacks," that can raise the car high enough for a mechanic to work underneath it. To lift this way is to jack something. Other kinds of jacks include game pieces and playing cards. In Middle English, as now, the name Jack was used for "ordinary guy," a meaning that transferred to basic tools, generic men, and male animals.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

jack Jack

Shares had their worst session in more than a year on Thursday, slumping 6% after the iPhone maker said it would jack up the price of MacBooks and iPads.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

“Companies are saying, ‘Let’s just jack up the price as high as we possibly can and extract as much from the small set of wealthy people,’” Richards said.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 13, 2026

“Whether it’s the rear jack guy, the fuel guy, the engineer, the driver himself, they all play that piece,” said Neale, who started with RAD in 2020.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

Soaring sales have far outstripped predictions and enabled the firm to jack up prices and profit margins.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026

Players would stand at one end and roll their bowls toward the jack at the far end.

From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge

Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University, likened the measures to rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Jack had reached for a vol-au-vent, swallowed it whole in one bite, rinsed it down with a glass of champagne and seized center stage all in one action.

From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026

Jack Kelly, a marine biologist and cinematographer in County Galway, said they are "common all around Britain and Ireland during the summer months".

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Jack Ezon, CEO of luxury travel advisory Embark Beyond, noted that hotels maintain the right to cancel reservations or deny access.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

She suggested we ditch dinner altogether and go to an old-fashioned ice cream parlor that she and Uncle Jack used to love.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

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