Jacob

American  

[jey-kuhb, zha-kawb] / ˈdʒeɪ kəb, ʒaˈkɔb /

noun

1. (in the Bible) the second son of Isaac, the twin brother of Esau, and father of the 12 patriarchs.

2. François 1920–2013, French geneticist: Nobel Prize in Medicine 1965.

3. a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “supplanter.”

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Jacob British  

/ ˈdʒeɪkəb /

noun

1. Old Testament the son of Isaac, twin brother of Esau, and father of the twelve patriarchs of Israel

2. Also called: Jacob sheep.  any of an ancient breed of sheep having a fleece with dark brown patches and two or four horns

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Jacob Scientific  

/ zhä-kôb′ /

1. French geneticist who studied how genes control cellular activity by directing the synthesis of proteins. With Jacques Monod, he theorized that there are genes that regulate the activity of other, neighboring genes. They also proposed the existence of messenger RNA.

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Etymology

Origin of Jacob

sense 2 in allusion to Genesis 30:40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Jacob

Earlier, British number five Jacob Fearnley beat France's Adrian Mannarino 7-6 6-4 to set up a second-round tie against the Czech Republic's Jakub Mensik.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

As it happens, his adviser was Jacob Tsimerman.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

The pilot, the only person on board the aircraft, managed to eject from the jet before the crash, said Marine Corps spokesperson Capt. Jacob Sugg.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

Other choices could have seen Jacob Bethell or Ben Duckett as captain, but these seemed far-fetched given a lack of leadership experience.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

By dinnertime Jonah had convinced himself that Tony McGilicuddy and Jacob Hanes and Dustin Cravers were a bunch of idiots, and he didn’t really care what they thought or did.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix