stab

[stab]

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verb (used with object), stabbed, stab·bing.

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), stabbed, stab·bing.

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

the act of stabbing.

a thrust or blow with, or as if with, a pointed weapon.

an attempt; try: Make a stab at an answer before giving up.

a wound made by stabbing.

a sudden, brief, and usually painful, sensation: He felt a stab of pain in his foot. A stab of pity ran through her.

Idioms

a stab in the back, an act of treachery.

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.

Origin of stab

1325–75; (v.) Middle English (Scots) stabben < ?; (noun) late Middle English, akin to or derivative of the v.; compare Scots stob stub¹

Related formsre·stab, verb, re·stabbed, re·stab·bing.un·stabbed, adjective

Synonyms for stab

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1. spear, penetrate, pin, transfix.

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

Related Words for stab in the back

abandon, backstab, betray, cross, deceive, double-cross, finger, trick

British Dictionary definitions for stab in the back

stab

verb stabs, stabbing or stabbed

(tr) to pierce or injure with a sharp pointed instrument

(tr) (of a sharp pointed instrument) to pierce or woundthe knife stabbed her hand

(when intr , often foll by at) to make a thrust (at); jabhe stabbed at the doorway

(tr) to inflict with a sharp pain

stab in the back

(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

the act or an instance of stabbing

an injury or rift made by stabbing

a sudden sensation, esp an unpleasant onea stab of pity

informal an attempt (esp in the phrase make a stab at)

Derived Formsstabber, noun

Word Origin for stab

C14: from stabbe stab wound; probably related to Middle English stob stick

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 stab in the back

stab

late 14c., first attested in Scottish English, apparently a dialectal variant of Scottish stob "to pierce, stab," of uncertain origin, perhaps a variant of stub (n.) "stake, nail." Figurative use, of emotions, etc., is from 1590s. Related: Stabbed; stabbing.

stab

"wound produced by stabbing," mid-15c., from stab (v.). Meaning "a try" first recorded 1895, American English. Stab in the back "treacherous deed" is first attested 1916.

Idioms and Phrases with stab in the back

stab

In addition to the idiom beginning with stab

stab in the back, a

also see:

make a stab at