Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

stabbing

[stab-ing]
See more synonyms for stabbing on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. penetrating; piercing: a stabbing pain.
  2. emotionally wounding: a stabbing remark.
  3. incisive or trenchant: a stabbing, satirical phrase.
Show More

Origin of stabbing

First recorded in 1590–1600; stab + -ing2
Related formsstab·bing·ly, adverb

stab

[stab]
verb (used with object), stabbed, stab·bing.
  1. to pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon: She stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork.
  2. to thrust, plunge, or jab (a knife, pointed weapon, or the like) into something: He stabbed the knife into the man's chest.
  3. to penetrate sharply or painfully: Their misery stabbed his conscience.
  4. 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.
Show More
verb (used without object), stabbed, stab·bing.
  1. to thrust with or as if with a knife or other pointed weapon: to stab at an attacker.
  2. to deliver a wound, as with a pointed weapon.
Show More
noun
  1. the act of stabbing.
  2. a thrust or blow with, or as if with, a pointed weapon.
  3. an attempt; try: Make a stab at an answer before giving up.
  4. a wound made by stabbing.
  5. a sudden, brief, and usually painful, sensation: He felt a stab of pain in his foot. A stab of pity ran through her.
Show More
Idioms
  1. a stab in the back, an act of treachery.
  2. 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.
Show More

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

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com
1. spear, penetrate, pin, transfix.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

pointed, gnawing, jagged, shooting, fine, serrated, barbed, acuminate, peaked, tapering, piercing, keen, tined, honed, tapered, horned, whetted, aciculate, acute

Examples from the Web for stabbing

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Some of them tried it, but the Indians swam after them, stabbing and pulling them under.

    The Trail Book

    Mary Austin

  • She could scratch, kick, and bite—and stab too; but for stabbing she wanted a knife.

    The Secret Agent

    Joseph Conrad

  • He looked at her inquiringly, caught the direction of her stabbing finger.

    The Moon is Green

    Fritz Reuter Leiber

  • The girl pulled the sheets from the machine and sorted them while I was stabbing the buzzer.

  • Stabbing with the pen, therefore, is not merely a metaphorical expression.

British Dictionary definitions for stabbing

stab

verb stabs, stabbing or stabbed
  1. (tr) to pierce or injure with a sharp pointed instrument
  2. (tr) (of a sharp pointed instrument) to pierce or woundthe knife stabbed her hand
  3. (when intr , often foll by at) to make a thrust (at); jabhe stabbed at the doorway
  4. (tr) to inflict with a sharp pain
  5. stab in the back
    1. (verb)to do damage to the reputation of (a person, esp a friend) in a surreptitious way
    2. (noun)a treacherous action or remark that causes the downfall of or injury to a person
Show More
noun
  1. the act or an instance of stabbing
  2. an injury or rift made by stabbing
  3. a sudden sensation, esp an unpleasant onea stab of pity
  4. informal an attempt (esp in the phrase make a stab at)
Show More
Derived Formsstabber, noun

Word Origin

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 stabbing

stab

v.

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.

Show More

stab

n.

"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.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with stabbing

stab

In addition to the idiom beginning with stab

  • stab in the back, a

also see:

  • make a stab at
Show More
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.