stab
verb (used with object)
to pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon.
stab
1 American
[stab]
/ stæb /
verb (used with object)
-
stabs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stabbed,
past participle, past
-
stabbing
present participle
-
to pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon.
She stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork.
-
to thrust, plunge, or jab (a knife, pointed weapon, or the like) into something.
He stabbed the knife into the man's chest.
-
to penetrate sharply or painfully.
Their misery stabbed his conscience.
-
to make a piercing, thrusting, or pointing motion at or in.
He stabbed me in the chest with his finger.
The speaker stabbed the air in anger.
verb (used without object)
-
stabs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stabbed,
past participle, past
-
stabbing
present participle
-
to thrust with or as if with a knife or other pointed weapon.
to stab at an attacker.
-
to deliver a wound, as with a pointed weapon.
noun
-
stabs
plural
idioms
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stab (someone) in the back, to do harm to (someone), especially to a friend or to a person who is unsuspecting or in a defenseless position.
-
a stab in the back, an act of treachery.
stab.
2
American
abbreviation
-
stabilization.
-
stabilizer.
-
stable.
stab
British
/ stæb /
verb
-
(tr) to pierce or injure with a sharp pointed instrument
-
(tr) (of a sharp pointed instrument) to pierce or wound
the knife stabbed her hand
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to make a thrust (at); jab
he stabbed at the doorway
-
(tr) to inflict with a sharp pain
-
-
(verb) to do damage to the reputation of (a person, esp a friend) in a surreptitious way
-
(noun) a treacherous action or remark that causes the downfall of or injury to a person
-
noun
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the act or an instance of stabbing
-
an injury or rift made by stabbing
-
a sudden sensation, esp an unpleasant one
a stab of pity
-
informal an attempt (esp in the phrase make a stab at )
stab
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stabsimple
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stabssimple
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have stabbedperfect
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has stabbedperfect
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am stabbingprogressive
-
are stabbingprogressive
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is stabbingprogressive
-
have been stabbingperfect progressive
-
has been stabbingperfect progressive
Past
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stabbedsimple
-
had stabbedperfect
-
was stabbingprogressive
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were stabbingprogressive
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had been stabbingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stab
First recorded in 1435–45 for the noun, and in 1525–35 for the verb; Middle English ( Scots ) noun stab, stabbe, stappe, of uncertain origin; compare Scots stob “needle, large needle”; verb from the noun
Explanation
To stab is to thrust or jab something sharp, the way you stab your sandwich with a toothpick or the way Brutus (and others) stab Julius Caesar in Shakespeare's play. You can stab at the soil in your garden with a trowel or stab the steak on your plate with a fork. You might then experience a stab (or sharp feeling) of regret, wondering if you should become a vegetarian. When you "take a stab at something," you attempt it: "I decided to take a stab at opera singing." Stab comes from the Scottish stob, "to pierce."
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:
Let's have a stab in the dark, then, at who might follow in Jonathan Ross's footsteps as this year's "big dog", and who, like singer Cat Burns, could fly under the radar?
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
But that’s how we’ve taken the initial stab.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Kennedy takes a stab at the salmon cake, brings one bite to his mouth and calls it “amazing.”
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Depending on the species, chelicerae can function as pincers or fangs that grip, pierce, or stab prey.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
I suppress the stab of jealousy that immediately makes itself known, right below my heart.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
“That is more difficult. The English, they do not stab. You are right there. I incline to the view that someone else dropped the pipe cleaner—and did so to incriminate the long-legged Englishman.”
From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie
"Let me hazard a wild stab. One is for Robb Stark, the others for Lords Stannis and Renly. Would that be right?"
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
“If you have a friend that stabs you in the back, that’s the way it was with what I had been taught about history,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
“Tell me who’s to blame — is it the people or myself?” she wonders against the icy synth stabs of the title track.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Monty Norman's surf guitar riff and John Barry's sweeping orchestral scores spawned an entire genre of spy music – full of minor key suspense and piercing stabs of trumpet.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
The United States has taken stabs at regulating its groundwater use, but in some cases those attempts appear to be failing.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2025
Simple movements send stabs of pain through my joints.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
Smit Machchhar was hailed for his heroism after being stabbed on Flight 1073.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
The stabbed pilot, Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, was taken to hospital but is in stable condition, according to the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
In the four years since her father was fatally stabbed near the entrance of their home in northern Israel, 10-year-old Shireen has carried the burden of grief on her tiny shoulders.
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
In one version circulating, attributed to a source in the VA police, she had already been stabbed by the time she arrived at the VA.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
I was like a knife now, rigid and straight, stabbed into the passenger seat.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
Passengers from the diverted Flydubai flight to Israel have arrived at Ben Gurion Airport following a stabbing incident earlier on Wednesday.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Those faulty messages can produce shooting, stabbing or burning sensations.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
U.K. officials have rebuffed the criticism, with Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy pointing out that the attacker was British and saying the stabbing had nothing to do with immigration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
The New York Police Department said it would not increase security specifically at Penn Station because of Sunday's stabbing.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
She began stabbing her perfectly manicured nails at her computer keyboard.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
