jibe
1 Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with or without object)
verb (used without object)
-
to shift from one side to the other when running before the wind, as a fore-and-aft sail or its boom.
-
to alter course so that a fore-and-aft sail shifts in this manner.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
jibes
plural
verb
verb
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of jibe1
An Americanism dating back to 1805–15; origin uncertain
Origin of jibe3
First recorded in 1685–95; variant of gybe, from Dutch gijben, more commonly gijpen
Explanation
To jibe with someone is to agree with them. Jibe can also mean “be compatible with or similar to.” If two people jibe, they get along quite well. A jibe can also be an insulting remark as another way to spell gibe. If someone directs that kind of jibe at you, the best response is a really good comeback. And in nautical terminology, jibe refers to a particular manner of changing the course of a ship. How did this word come to have such different meanings? Your guess is as good as ours. Just try to remember that if you want to jibe with others, don’t insult them.
Vocabulary lists containing jibe
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
100 SAT Words Beginning with "J," "K," and "L"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Color of Water
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
It also wouldn’t jibe with my understanding, at least, of a democratic replacement process.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
That included a jibe about Keir Starmer not being Winston Churchill.
From BBC ● May 1, 2026
This week, their relationship took a nosedive as tensions flared over the war and a personal jibe directed at Macron.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Stepped-up bill issuance by the Treasury would jibe with the Fed’s announced end of quantitative tightening, which was anticipated.
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2025
The words jibe, gibe, and jive are all verbs meaning to “kid” or “heckle.” lay/lie.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
This jibes with the challenge hypothesis, which says, in multiple species, testosterone levels rise when males battle for attention from potential mates and go down when it’s time to take care of the young.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
The report questioned how that jibes with the reasons offered by Dozler and his agency: “a work-related phone call, email, or license check by the Department.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
Djokovic is not afraid to go toe to toe with hostile fans, using their jibes to fuel his relentless quest for glory and showing the depth of his competitiveness.
From Barron's ● Jan. 31, 2026
Before the derby, Martinez was on the receiving end of jibes from former Red Devils midfielders Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes.
From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2026
These lads called him over to share food and drink with them, and were friendly though rough and full of jokes and jibes.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Their results initially jibed with the annual count, falling within five percentage points above or below it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2025
Popov also jibed that Carlson had managed to experience Moscow's modern public transport system during his visit.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2024
Everything he observed jibed with what he knew of Bruegel the Younger, who had painted several works depicting the same scene of a Spanish official collecting taxes from Flemish peasants.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 4, 2023
But "proper" is a fuzzier concept when you are tightening underlying monetary policy - unlike the 2012-14 period when easier and easier policy jibed with the underlying deflation picture.
From Reuters ● Jun. 10, 2022
Because he possessed what seemed to be an unusually reliable memory, I was particularly interested to hear how his version of the events jibed with my own.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
On record, “Anything For Love” gets a knowing wink with in-studio jibing between Lipa and her producers; here she played it straight as a lofty piano ballad for the back seats on a floating riser.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2025
It came too close to the top mark after the first leg and at the bottom mark, the New Zealand boat Te Rehutai reared up on its foils, then crashed back after a jibing error.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 18, 2020
It was a very strange and uncomfortable case of what was actually on screen not jibing with what we were “supposed” to see.
From Slate ● Dec. 23, 2014
In midsummer, it is so packed with sailboats that were it an aquatic parking lot for a big box store, you’d be tacking and jibing forever before you found a space.
From New York Times ● Aug. 13, 2014
Clouds and rain came up on the wind, which veered and gusted so wildly that there was considerable danger of the ship jibing.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
