jar

¹ American  

[jahr] / dʒɑr /

noun

1. a broad-mouthed container, usually cylindrical and of glass or earthenware.

   a cookie jar.

2. the quantity such a container can or does hold.

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jar ² American  

[jahr] / dʒɑr /

verb (used without object)

• jars,
  present (3rd person singular)
• jarred,
  past participle,  past
• jarring
  present participle

1. to have a harshly unpleasant or perturbing effect on one's nerves, feelings, thoughts, etc..

   The sound of the alarm jarred.

2. to produce a harsh, grating sound; sound discordantly.

3. to vibrate audibly; rattle.

   The window jarred in the frame.

4. to vibrate or shake.

5. to conflict, clash, or disagree.

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verb (used with object)

• jars,
  present (3rd person singular)
• jarred,
  past participle,  past
• jarring
  present participle

1. to cause to rattle or shake.

2. to have a sudden and unpleasant effect upon (the feelings, nerves, etc.).

   The burglary violently jarred their sense of security.

3. to cause to sound harshly or discordantly.

noun

1. a jolt or shake; a vibrating movement, as from concussion.

2. a sudden unpleasant effect upon the mind or feelings; shock.

3. a harsh, grating sound.

4. a discordant sound or combination of sounds.

5. a quarrel or disagreement, especially a minor one.

jar ³ American  

[jahr] / dʒɑr /

noun

1. a turn or turning.

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idioms

1. on the jar, partly opened; ajar.

   The window was on the jar.

jar ¹ British  

/ dʒɑː /

verb

1. to vibrate or cause to vibrate

2. to make or cause to make a harsh discordant sound

3. (often foll by on) to have a disturbing or painful effect (on the nerves, mind, etc)

4. (intr) to disagree; clash

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noun

1. a jolt or shock

2. a harsh discordant sound

jar ² British  

/ dʒɑː /

noun

1. a wide-mouthed container that is usually cylindrical, made of glass or earthenware, and without handles

2. Also: jarful.  the contents or quantity contained in a jar

3. informal a glass of alcoholic drink, esp beer

   to have a jar with someone

4. obsolete a measure of electrical capacitance

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jar ³ British  

/ dʒɑː /

noun

1. (of a door) slightly open; ajar

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• jarless
  adjective
• jarring
  adjective
• unjarred
  adjective
• jarringly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• jarring
  present
• jarred
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• jar
  simple
• jars
  simple
• have jarred
  perfect
• has jarred
  perfect
• am jarring
  progressive
• are jarring
  progressive
• is jarring
  progressive
• have been jarring
  perfect progressive
• has been jarring
  perfect progressive

Past

• jarred
  simple
• had jarred
  perfect
• was jarring
  progressive
• were jarring
  progressive
• had been jarring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will jar
  simple
• will have jarred
  perfect
• will be jarring
  progressive
• will have been jarring
  perfect progressive

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

First recorded in 1665–75; variant of char ³; cf. ajar ²

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

jar jars jarred jarring

Many are now stored in his lab at the museum; he’s also got 1,363 moltings in a jar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

Following his arrest, officers strip-searched him and went through property that included a handgun, a silencer and a jar of Skippy peanut butter.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

"There are a number of pieces of information in these notes that just might jar someone to say 'you know, I've heard that'," said Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

The next time you finish a jar of olives, don’t think of the liquid at the bottom as leftovers.

From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026

“No you couldn’t,” Bat said, stabbing the knife into the peanut butter jar.

From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold

Archaeologists have found pieces of Greek pottery, as well as rooms and large jars for storing goods from the harbour, discoveries that Karam said showed the ancient city's "lively commercial activity".

From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026

Meghan sells fruit spreads in $12 individual jars or $42 for a trio.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Instead, he saw hundreds of amphorae - tall ceramic jars used to store goods in the ancient era, mostly wine, oil or grain.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

The only real rule is to seek out jars with ingredient lists that read more like recipes than chemistry textbooks and, if possible, contain visible evidence of the fruit itself.

From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026

But Doc had taken all of her rootwork possessions: her potions, her perfumes, and all of her jars and baskets.

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce

I’ve happily sung the praises of jarred garlic and frozen ginger cubes.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 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

It jarred when he asked for empathy in Melbourne.

From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2026

The only thing that jarred and bothered me when she came in the Store was her voice.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

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

Because we all remember how frequently the self-inflicted damages were occurring during that bizarre and jarring stretch starting late last year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

While gold’s decline has been jarring, some additional perspective is still in order.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

The roughly 7 million student-loan borrowers who were enrolled in SAVE, a Biden-era repayment program, will likely experience some of the most jarring changes over the next few months.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026

A bell started clanging from a distance, jarring me out of my thoughts.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

Related Words

• basin
• bottle
• can
• flask
• jug
• pot
• urn
• vase
• vessel