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:
Nor is he using “forward guidance” to jawbone markets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Lindsey and Lynette Melvin told the news station they first thought they were digging up bones of a bighorn sheep until they came across the jawbone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 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
Because the mosasaur tooth, the T. rex tooth, and the crocodylian jawbone all date to roughly the same time, about 66 million years ago, the scientists could directly compare their chemistry.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 15, 2025
His- eyes were sunk in deep pits, his close-cropped beard no more than a shadow across his hollow cheeks and bony jawbone.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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
A digital comparison of the newly uncovered mandible with 83 other jawbones confirmed a strange mix of ancient and modern anatomical features.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 19, 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
Some of them had the beginnings of beards, straggly tufts of hair that stood in isolated clumps on their chins, jawbones, and upper lips.
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
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
This has long been an issue for the U.S. government, which has jawboned these countries to little effect.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 14, 2016
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
Hoover jawboned businesses to prevent them from cutting workers' wages.
From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2011
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
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.
