jar
1 Americannoun
-
a broad-mouthed container, usually cylindrical and of glass or earthenware.
a cookie jar.
-
the quantity such a container can or does hold.
verb (used without object)
-
jars,
present (3rd person singular)
-
jarred,
past participle, past
-
jarring
present participle
-
to have a harshly unpleasant or perturbing effect on one's nerves, feelings, thoughts, etc..
The sound of the alarm jarred.
-
to produce a harsh, grating sound; sound discordantly.
-
to vibrate audibly; rattle.
The window jarred in the frame.
-
to vibrate or shake.
-
to conflict, clash, or disagree.
verb (used with object)
-
jars,
present (3rd person singular)
-
jarred,
past participle, past
-
jarring
present participle
-
to cause to rattle or shake.
-
to have a sudden and unpleasant effect upon (the feelings, nerves, etc.).
The burglary violently jarred their sense of security.
-
to cause to sound harshly or discordantly.
noun
-
a jolt or shake; a vibrating movement, as from concussion.
-
a sudden unpleasant effect upon the mind or feelings; shock.
-
a harsh, grating sound.
-
a discordant sound or combination of sounds.
-
a quarrel or disagreement, especially a minor one.
noun
idioms
verb
-
to vibrate or cause to vibrate
-
to make or cause to make a harsh discordant sound
-
(often foll by on) to have a disturbing or painful effect (on the nerves, mind, etc)
-
(intr) to disagree; clash
noun
-
a jolt or shock
-
a harsh discordant sound
noun
-
a wide-mouthed container that is usually cylindrical, made of glass or earthenware, and without handles
-
Also: jarful. the contents or quantity contained in a jar
-
informal a glass of alcoholic drink, esp beer
to have a jar with someone
-
obsolete a measure of electrical capacitance
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
jarsimple
-
jarssimple
-
have jarredperfect
-
has jarredperfect
-
am jarringprogressive
-
are jarringprogressive
-
is jarringprogressive
-
have been jarringperfect progressive
-
has been jarringperfect progressive
Past
-
jarredsimple
-
had jarredperfect
-
was jarringprogressive
-
were jarringprogressive
-
had been jarringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jar1
First recorded in 1585–95; Middle English jarre “liquid measure smaller than a barrel,” possibly from Old French jarre, from Spanish or Portuguese jarra, jarro “a jar, pitcher,” or from Medieval Latin jarra, from Old Provençal jarra, from Arabic jarrah “earthen water vessel”
Origin of jar2
First recorded in 1520–30; probably imitative; cf. chirr
Origin of jar3
Explanation
A jar is a smooth-sided, round container that's often made of glass. Jars are useful for storing food, from rice to tea bags to cookies. A wide-mouth jar made of pottery might hold Oreos, and a small, short jar could contain homemade jam. When you put something in a jar, you jar it. Another way to use the verb version of jar is to mean "shock painfully or unpleasantly:" "Every bump we drove over in the old Jeep would jar my whole body." The jar that's a container probably stems from the Middle French jarre, "liquid measure."
Vocabulary lists containing jar
Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 1
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"A Night to Remember," Vocabulary from the history writing
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The Darkest Minds
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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:
Your hand and forearm strength can be important to everyday functions, like opening a jar or turning a key in a difficult lock.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Instead of a jar there’s a white board and every time someone speaks in AI-like language, they get a tally mark.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
David Bowie used to put words in a jar and then pull them out and make a song from that.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
What changed, slowly enough that nobody announced it, was the jar.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
He sat on the floor with the jar in front of him and the packet dangling from his teeth.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Sure, sometimes the beautiful jar is bought by someone who simply enjoys beautiful jars.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
The Mint struck its final circulating pennies on Nov. 12, 2025, each one costing 3.69 cents to produce, leaving roughly 300 billion of them in jars, couches and the ashtrays of America.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
But for workers -- for many of whom carmaking is a way of life, not just a career -- it is what the agreement does not cover that jars.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
The attention to detail is extraordinary, from the half full jars of jam on the kitchen surfaces to the takeaway menus and personal trainer ads on the side of the fridge.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
There are few things fouler than watching huge white maggots writhe inside jars of apricot syrup.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
On the other goes a coarse, olive-bar-inspired romesco made with jarred roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, salted roasted almonds and smoked paprika.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
Throughout the documentary, former players describe how Benitez's criticism and obsession with granular tactical detail sometimes jarred.
From BBC ● May 12, 2026
Scientists, jarred by Beecher’s findings, grew more invested in ruling out the possibility that a drug’s effects were due to placebo.
From Slate ● Jan. 30, 2026
The lack of clarity raises the prospect that the chaos of the past few days, which jarred markets and stress tested trans-Atlantic diplomacy, could return in the near future.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
Some of the expressions she heard every day astonished her, jarred her, and she wondered what Obinze’s mother would make of them.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The theatrical flourish seems jarring, but so too is the historic moment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
It was all the more jarring because elsewhere Nordqvist had unmistakably fostered that famed European spirit which so often permeates through Solheim and Ryder Cup successes.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
“Phil made such an effort to be everyone’s best friend. It’s jarring to have someone perform the role the opposite way,” said Chris Plante, host of the videogame fan podcast “Post Games.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
This shift in focus was jarring for the Post, which had previously published a diversity of viewpoints in its opinion pages while maintaining a largely liberal editorial orientation.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
Despite the jarring impact, Otto and Sheed were fine.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
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.
