jacks

British  

/ dʒæks /

noun

1. Sometimes called: knucklebones.  (functioning as singular) a game in which bone, metal, or plastic pieces ( jackstones ) are thrown and then picked up in various groups between bounces or throws of a small ball

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Etymology

Origin of jacks

C19: shortened from jackstones , variant of checkstones pebbles

Explanation

Jacks is a children's game in which you bounce a small ball and quickly scoop up game pieces. There's evidence that some form of jacks was even played in ancient Greece. Jacks goes by many names, including "knucklebones" and "fivestones." The original version was played with small stones, which were closely related to dice, and invented around the same time. In modern jacks, a player drops ten metal star-shaped pieces and then tries to scoop them up — first one at a time, then two at a time, and so on — after bouncing a ball, which is then caught before it hits the ground.

Example Sentences

That includes Iran, which is straining under a historic drought made worse by years of mismanagement, while climate change jacks up temperatures and reduces rainfall.

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026

Watching young Reiner play jacks in the living room, he thought the kid was hilarious.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2025

His character, Tommy Norris, is the titular West Texas landman, an oil-company fixer juggling everything from exploding pump jacks and drug-cartel incursions, to tangled mineral-rights leases and constant family distractions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 6, 2025

Weeks later, the suburbs of Weoley Castle and Northfield in Birmingham had a mixture of the St George Cross and union jacks hanging from every lamppost along several of their streets.

From BBC • Aug. 21, 2025

She says that crews are busy locking away the beaches behind a network of concertina wire and huge wooden jacks called chevaux de frise.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr