noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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jawbonesimple
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jawbonessimple
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have jawbonedperfect
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has jawbonedperfect
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am jawboningprogressive
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are jawboningprogressive
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is jawboningprogressive
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have been jawboningperfect progressive
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has been jawboningperfect progressive
Past
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jawbonedsimple
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had jawbonedperfect
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was jawboningprogressive
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were jawboningprogressive
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had been jawboningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jawbone
Explanation
To jawbone is to talk informally. Think "schmooze," "talk up," or "chit chat;" it's a word to use when the act of talking is more important than what's being talked about. In a financial or political context, jawboning is a form of persuasion. When Lyndon B. Johnson attempted to jawbone rising interest-rates in 1966, he was attempting to change the behavior of the markets without taking direct action. Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fireside Chats can be seen as jawboning as well, as FDR enlisted support first for New Deal programs and then for the US role in World War II through informal, friendly radio-broadcast "chats."
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:
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is projecting a more humble view after failing to jawbone the bond market.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Nor is he using “forward guidance” to jawbone markets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
One photo showed a human jawbone complete with teeth and dental fillings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
The jawbone was found in excavations from the 1920s in Gough's cave in Cheddar Gorge, now famous for storing its famous cheese.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
She relished reporting the Fourth of July Toast: “John Adams. May he, like Samson, slay thousands of Frenchmen with the jawbone of Jefferson.”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Real jawbones of dead whales were first raised on top of West Cliff in 1964 as a symbol of Whitby's maritime heritage.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
She recovered key anatomical features including teeth, jawbones, and parts of the skull, which later allowed scientists to identify the specimen as a new species.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 24, 2026
Some of the jab jab masqueraders wore cow horns on their heads or carried cow jawbones, plastic snakes or chains — a reminder of slavery.
From New York Times ● Sep. 3, 2018
Herbivorous mammals like the giraffe have front teeth, muscular lips, flattened molars, and jawbones that pull and grind leaves in a side-to-side motion.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2018
Her forehead is high and smooth, her jawbones sloping and unusually long.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
And where he lacks legislative authority, the president has jawboned corporate executives to cut drug prices, airline fees and the cost of internet access.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 6, 2023
Finance Minister Shinichi Suzuki jawboned markets against pushing down the yen too much, saying earlier on Wednesday that rapid moves in the yen were "undesirable."
From Reuters ● Apr. 13, 2022
Just as in his ad against Cruz, Davis' monologue in "Bernie" occurred while he wore casual clothes and jawboned at a local barbecue establishment.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2018
He argued calls, jawboned umps, ran the base paths as aggressively—and menacingly—as any opposing player who’d ever tried to knock him down or spike him on a slide.
From Time ● Apr. 15, 2016
Okun figures that between 1966 and 1968, wholesale prices rose an average 2.3% a year for most industries; they went up only 1.7% in 15 "jawboned" industries, including steel, copper, autos and aluminum.
From Time Magazine Archive
Neither Modi’s jawboning nor an estimated $100 billion in Reserve Bank of India intervention has stemmed the decline so far, though, says Venkat Pasupuleti, portfolio manager for India at Dalton Investments.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
But Bessent has not just been jawboning the Dow; he has been making military pronouncements on cable news.
From Salon ● Apr. 1, 2026
Oil dropped on these remarks on Tuesday and equities bounced — even though the president was just jawboning.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 11, 2026
The jawboning by finance officials appears to have delivered the same result as actually intervening in the market—at least for now.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
Let’s talk about Murthy, because I think it’s largely been framed as a case about what’s called jawboning, right?
From Slate ● Mar. 18, 2024
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.
