jab
Americanverb (used with object)
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jabs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
jabbed,
past participle, past
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jabbing
present participle
-
to poke, or thrust abruptly or sharply, as with the end or point of a stick or with the finger or elbow.
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to punch with a short, quick blow.
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Informal. to give (a person) a hypodermic injection, especially of a vaccine: I jab myself with insulin twice a day.
Here’s a list of the countries you can visit if you haven’t been jabbed.
I jab myself with insulin twice a day.
verb (used without object)
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jabs,
present (3rd person singular)
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jabbed,
past participle, past
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jabbing
present participle
noun
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jabs
plural
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a poke with the end or point of something; a sharp, quick thrust.
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a short, quick punch.
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Informal. a hypodermic injection, especially of a vaccine.
Have you gotten your flu jab yet?
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Informal. an abrupt insult or critical remark.
That guy has no problem responding with a sarcastic jab.
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a sudden and unpleasant sensation or emotion: He knew she was happier now, but he still felt the slightest jab of guilt.
I have jabs of pain, numbness, and tingling in my fingers.
He knew she was happier now, but he still felt the slightest jab of guilt.
verb
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to poke or thrust sharply
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to strike with a quick short blow or blows
noun
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a sharp poke or stab
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a quick short blow, esp (in boxing) a straight punch with the leading hand
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informal an injection
polio jabs
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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jabsimple
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jabssimple
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have jabbedperfect
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has jabbedperfect
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am jabbingprogressive
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are jabbingprogressive
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is jabbingprogressive
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have been jabbingperfect progressive
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has been jabbingperfect progressive
Past
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jabbedsimple
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had jabbedperfect
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was jabbingprogressive
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were jabbingprogressive
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had been jabbingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jab
First recorded in 1825–35; variant, originally Scots, of job 2
Explanation
When you jab someone, you poke that person. No one on the school bus wants to sit next to the kid who tends to jab people in their ribs with his sharp elbows. You might accidentally jab a man on the elevator with your umbrella, or jab your annoying brother on purpose when he's talking with his mouth full at dinner. Another kind of jab is a quick, sharp punch, especially the kind you make in martial arts. The word comes from the Scottish job, "to strike, pierce, or thrust," which in turn is rooted in the Middle English jobben, "to jab or thrust."
Vocabulary lists containing jab
Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 3
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Because of Mr. Terupt
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Dear Martin
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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:
Mayer was unable to get in behind her jab for long periods and was bleeding and breathing heavily by round six.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
This explains Carney’s jab, at his press conference last weekend, that the United States’ signature is sometimes “written in pencil.”
From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026
It said the patient, Samantha, had booked a flu jab but was instead given a Covid vaccine after staff failed to show her a BSL video which would have highlighted the error.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
The Singapore-based Hilleman Laboratories announced on Thursday it would advance the rVSV Bundibugyo jab so it can be tested on humans during clinical trials.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
He gave my ribs a playful jab with his elbow.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Even slight jabs, if relentlessly delivered, can undermine, if not rupture, relationships.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
The chain had officially entered chicken sandwich territory, and this quickly spurred a massive fight with the OG sandwich maker Chick-fil-A, with the two brands throwing jabs at each other online for weeks.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
It was a punch delivered in Atlanta on Sunday and felt all the way in Washington, smooth and fluid, like one of Sugar Ray Robinson’s left hooks or Muhammad Ali’s left jabs.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
Characters deliver jabs at “Jeff Bozos” and the Epstein class while slyly revealing you shouldn’t trust their takes, either.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Tree-ear began hopping about their little den like a rabbit, dodging Crane-man’s jabs and swipes, his shame forgotten for the moment, as the day ended in laughter.
From "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park
In Germany, parents can be fined if their children aren't jabbed against measles.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
And the midtempo ballad “The Knife” describes a collapsing relationship as a mortal threat, akin to a dagger jabbed into one’s side or a case of kerosene waiting to be ignited.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
It was also possible that he accidentally jabbed himself, through his gloves, on a needle or a patient’s teeth.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2025
“In the race to be my best friend between Senator Fetterman and Governor Hobbs, Governor Hobbs wins by a jillion,” Stewart jabbed.
From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2024
They reached Geary and Chicken jabbed the crosswalk button.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
The artist and buyer were nonconformists, jabbing at, well, something.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026
He loved to say it on the stump with his trademark snarl and jabbing finger.
From Salon ● Dec. 11, 2025
At SoFi, though, I much preferred the former, which she sang while jabbing at a sparkly pink electric guitar and which sounded like Courtney Love fronting Josie and the Pussycats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2025
"His jabbing was superb, his footwork was superb, he wasn't slow. He was very evasive."
From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2024
“Aw, shah!” she snapped, jabbing a cone-shaped tin cemetery urn into the ground for the jonquils we brought.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
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.
