jab

[jab]

verb (used with object)

jabbed, jabbing 

1. to poke, or thrust abruptly or sharply, as with the end or point of a stick or with the finger or elbow.

2. to punch with a short, quick blow.

3. 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)

jabbed, jabbing 

1. to poke or punch with a sharp, quick blow.

noun

1. a poke with the end or point of something; a sharp, quick thrust.

2. a short, quick punch.

3. Informal.,  a hypodermic injection, especially of a vaccine.

   Have you gotten your flu jab yet?

4. Informal.,  an abrupt insult or critical remark.

   That guy has no problem responding with a sarcastic jab.

5. 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.

jab

/ dʒæb /

verb

1. to poke or thrust sharply

2. to strike with a quick short blow or blows

noun

1. a sharp poke or stab

2. a quick short blow, esp (in boxing) a straight punch with the leading hand

3. informal,  an injection

   polio jabs

Other Word Forms

• jabbingly adverb
• jabbing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of jab¹

First recorded in 1825–35; variant, originally Scots, of job ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of jab¹

C19: originally Scottish variant of _job

Example Sentences

The New York City mayoral candidates got in their last licks Wednesday night at the final debate before the Nov. 4 election, with the three contenders taking jabs at their opponents.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

As companies dealt with the outage, Elon Musk took a jab at AWS by posting “X works” on the social media site he owns.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Early results for a different injection called lenacapavir suggest it may even be possible to move people on to an annual HIV prevention jab.

Read more on BBC

But as agreeable as it is, it can’t square its jabs with its sentimentality.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

After that incident, and in the wake of Alice's death, we investigated whether it was still possible to purchase jabs from him.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• dig 
• punch