jawbone

[jaw-bohn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR jawbone ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a bone of either jaw; a maxilla or mandible.

the bone of the lower jaw; mandible.

verb (used with or without object), jaw·boned, jaw·bon·ing.

Informal. to attempt to influence or pressure by persuasion rather than by the exertion of force or one's authority, as in urging voluntary compliance with economic guidelines: The president jawboned the steel industry into postponing price increases.

adjective

Informal. obtained by or resorting to such a practice: jawbone controls.

Origin of jawbone

First recorded in 1480–90; jaw¹ + bone

Related formsjaw·bon·ing, noun, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for jawbone

scold, chide, berate, admonish, upbraid, censure, castigate, reprimand, oppose, reproach, discredit, rebuke, wheedle, cajole, tease, induce, entice, tempt, point, jaw

Examples from the Web for jawbone

Contemporary Examples of jawbone

Sure, your cubicle mate, neighbor, and aunt all own a Fitbit or JawBone fitness tracker.
Nothing Says I Love You Like Data
The Daily Beast
December 8, 2014
You wear a FitBit Flex, Jawbone Up, or Nike Fuel Band on your wrist, and go about your normal day.
Self-Tracking for N00bz
Jamie Todd Rubin
July 24, 2014
From my neck to my temples, there is a throbbing soreness on both sides of my face, all radiating from the hinge of my jawbone.
After War: Anger, Panic, and Sometimes Peace
Benjamin Tupper
June 26, 2013
Then, like a twist in a pulp thriller, the jawbone washed up on shore in Aruba.
Natalee Holloway: Is the Bone in Aruba Hers?
Barbie Latza Nadeau
November 19, 2010
But they have not officially confirmed whether or not the jawbone is even human, let alone if it belongs to the missing girl.
Natalee Holloway: Is the Bone in Aruba Hers?
Barbie Latza Nadeau
November 19, 2010

Historical Examples of jawbone

Abel is stricken with a jawbone and dieth; Cain casteth him into a ditch.
Rambles Beyond Railways;
Wilkie Collins
The jawbone is prominent (partly on account of the drying up of the flesh).
The Mystery of Mary Stuart
Andrew Lang
The latter is made from the jawbone of a whale and is extremely heavy.
The Central Eskimo
Franz Boas
Mr. Lesueur made a drawing of this jawbone, which is deposited in the library.
Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-1834, Part III (the Text Being Chapters XXVIII-XXXIII of the London Edition, 1843, and the Appendix a Combination of the Appendices of the London and German [Coblentz, 1839] Editions)
Maximilian, Prinz von Wied
There is Samson belaboring the Philistines with the jawbone of an ass.
Passages From the French and Italian Notebooks, Volume 2
Nathaniel Hawthorne

British Dictionary definitions for jawbone

jawbone

noun

a nontechnical name for mandible, (or (less commonly)) maxilla

verb

US to try to persuade or bring pressure to bear (on) by virtue of one's high office or position, esp in urging compliance with official policy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for jawbone

mid-15c., from jaw (n.) + bone (n.). Hence jawboning "lecturing, hectoring," a term associated with the U.S. Lyndon Johnson presidential administration (1966); cf. jaw (v.).

jawbone in Medicine

jawbone

[jô′bōn′]

n.

The maxilla or, especially, the mandible.