noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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jawbonesimple
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jawbonessimple
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have jawbonedperfect
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has jawbonedperfect
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am jawboningprogressive
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are jawboningprogressive
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is jawboningprogressive
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have been jawboningperfect progressive
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has been jawboningperfect progressive
Past
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jawbonedsimple
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had jawbonedperfect
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was jawboningprogressive
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were jawboningprogressive
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had been jawboningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jawbone
Explanation
To jawbone is to talk informally. Think "schmooze," "talk up," or "chit chat;" it's a word to use when the act of talking is more important than what's being talked about. In a financial or political context, jawboning is a form of persuasion. When Lyndon B. Johnson attempted to jawbone rising interest-rates in 1966, he was attempting to change the behavior of the markets without taking direct action. Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fireside Chats can be seen as jawboning as well, as FDR enlisted support first for New Deal programs and then for the US role in World War II through informal, friendly radio-broadcast "chats."
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:
Even when treatment is attempted, the underlying jawbone may continue to deteriorate.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
In August, human remains, including a jawbone with teeth and dental fillings and rib bones, were discovered at Boulder Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Nor is he using “forward guidance” to jawbone markets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
“If the Fed chair has the ability to try to jawbone those lower and provide some assurances,” he said, “I do think that would also provide the tailwind.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026
She relished reporting the Fourth of July Toast: “John Adams. May he, like Samson, slay thousands of Frenchmen with the jawbone of Jefferson.”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Real jawbones of dead whales were first raised on top of West Cliff in 1964 as a symbol of Whitby's maritime heritage.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
As their excavation continued, the team found eight more similar jawbones, each about six inches long.
From Science Daily ● May 1, 2026
The fossils Miller and her colleagues used in their study include many teeth and some jawbones but unfortunately no complete skeletons.
From Scientific American ● Jan. 25, 2023
Some of the jab jab masqueraders wore cow horns on their heads or carried cow jawbones, plastic snakes or chains — a reminder of slavery.
From New York Times ● Sep. 3, 2018
Her forehead is high and smooth, her jawbones sloping and unusually long.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
"It turns out… that they jawboned him for a year-and-a-half," Barr said on Thursday.
From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2023
And where he lacks legislative authority, the president has jawboned corporate executives to cut drug prices, airline fees and the cost of internet access.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 6, 2023
Finance Minister Shinichi Suzuki jawboned markets against pushing down the yen too much, saying earlier on Wednesday that rapid moves in the yen were "undesirable."
From Reuters ● Apr. 13, 2022
He argued calls, jawboned umps, ran the base paths as aggressively—and menacingly—as any opposing player who’d ever tried to knock him down or spike him on a slide.
From Time ● Apr. 15, 2016
Between 1966 and 1968, for example, there were 15 jawboned industries, including autos, aluminum, copper and steel.
From Time Magazine Archive
Notably, it has not been adjudicated whether or not the FCC has crossed the line into jawboning.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
Neither Modi’s jawboning nor an estimated $100 billion in Reserve Bank of India intervention has stemmed the decline so far, though, says Venkat Pasupuleti, portfolio manager for India at Dalton Investments.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
Oil dropped on these remarks on Tuesday and equities bounced — even though the president was just jawboning.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 11, 2026
“Policymakers are wary of endorsing a premature and unwarranted rise in short-term rates and could step up their jawboning efforts in upcoming appearances if markets fail to heed the message,” Schamotta said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025
Let’s talk about Murthy, because I think it’s largely been framed as a case about what’s called jawboning, right?
From Slate ● Mar. 18, 2024
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
