stabbing

[ stab-ing ]

/ ˈstæb ɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stabbing ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

penetrating; piercing: a stabbing pain.

emotionally wounding: a stabbing remark.

incisive or trenchant: a stabbing, satirical phrase.

Nearby words

stab drain, stab in the back, a, stab kick, stab., stabat mater, stabbing, stabbingly, stabilate, stabile, stabilimeter, stability

Origin of stabbing

First recorded in 1590–1600; stab + -ing²

Related formsstab·bing·ly, adverb

Definition for stabbing (2 of 2)

stab

[ stab ]

/ stæb /

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.

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

SYNONYMS FOR stab

1 spear, penetrate, pin, transfix.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR stab ON THESAURUS.COM

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

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

Examples from the Web for stabbing

French officials were already on edge after a series of apparently unconnected attacks, including the stabbing of police officers.
U.S. Spies See Al Qaeda Fingerprints on Paris Massacre|Shane Harris, Nancy A. Youssef|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Are you the kind of criminal who runs down the beach at night wielding a knife and stabbing every woman you pass?
I Felt Like Showering After the First-Person Sex in ‘Grand Theft Auto’|Alec Kubas-Meyer|November 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Forty-five minutes were estimated to have elapsed from the time the stabbing began until the killer left.
The Myth of the Central Park Five|Edward Conlon|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He spoke of surviving a stabbing in 1958 when a woman attacked him at a book-signing.
Tavis Smiley Humanely Chronicles MLK’s Sad Last Year|Scott Porch|October 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Of course, to the family of a victim, one stabbing death is too many.
How the Gun Nuts Try to Excuse Away the Santa Barbara Slaughter—and Why They’re All Wrong|Cliff Schecter|May 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And then Dave realized that the Major was stabbing a finger at his bullet-smacked wings.
Dave Dawson on Guadalcanal|Robert Sydney Bowen
He had never seen her look or speak like that—her face so hard, her eyes so stabbing!
Beyond|John Galsworthy
He was on the point of stabbing one of my companions when another hit him under the ear.
Colonel Thorndyke's Secret|G. A. Henty
A thin, stabbing pain shot through her heart, as if it had been pricked with a needle.
The Port of Adventure|Charles Norris Williamson and Alice Muriel Williamson
Sam-tat-yon entered, closed the door, and stabbing his brother first in the chest and then in the abdomen, killed him.
In the Andamans and Nicobars|C. Boden Kloss

British Dictionary definitions for stabbing

stab

/ (stæb) /

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 stabbing (1 of 2)

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.

Word Origin and History for stabbing (1 of 2)

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 stabbing

stab

In addition to the idiom beginning with stab

stab in the back, a

also see:

make a stab at

stabbing

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of stabbing

Definition for stabbing (2 of 2)

stab

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

verb (used without object), stabbed, stab·bing.

noun

Origin of stab

Examples from the Web for stabbing

British Dictionary definitions for stabbing

stab

verb stabs, stabbing or stabbed

noun

Word Origin for stab

Word Origin and History for stabbing (1 of 2)

stab

Word Origin and History for stabbing (1 of 2)

stab

Idioms and Phrases with stabbing

stab