jawbone
- 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.
- Informal. obtained by or resorting to such a practice: jawbone controls.
Origin of jawbone
Related Words for jawbone
scold, chide, berate, admonish, upbraid, censure, castigate, reprimand, oppose, reproach, discredit, rebuke, wheedle, cajole, tease, induce, entice, tempt, point, jawExamples from the Web for jawbone
Contemporary Examples of jawbone
Sure, your cubicle mate, neighbor, and aunt all own a Fitbit or JawBone fitness tracker.
You wear a FitBit Flex, Jawbone Up, or Nike Fuel Band on your wrist, and go about your normal day.
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.
Then, like a twist in a pulp thriller, the jawbone washed up on shore in Aruba.
But they have not officially confirmed whether or not the jawbone is even human, let alone if it belongs to the missing girl.
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 StuartAndrew Lang
The latter is made from the jawbone of a whale and is extremely heavy.
The Central EskimoFranz Boas
Mr. Lesueur made a drawing of this jawbone, which is deposited in the library.
There is Samson belaboring the Philistines with the jawbone of an ass.
Passages From the French and Italian Notebooks, Volume 2Nathaniel Hawthorne
jawbone
- 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
Word Origin and History for jawbone
jawbone
(jô′bōn′)- The maxilla or, especially, the mandible.