Meaning

An act of stabbing or thrusting with an object..

Definitions by Sense

1. An act of stabbing or thrusting with an object.
2. A wound made by stabbing.
3. Pain inflicted on a person's feelings.
4. (informal) An attempt.
5. Criticism.
6. (music) A single staccato chord that adds dramatic impact to a composition.
7. A bacterial culture made by inoculating a solid medium, such as gelatin, with the puncture of a needle or wire.
8. (transitive) To pierce or to wound (somebody) with a (usually pointed) tool or weapon, especially a knife or dagger.

Example Sentences

A knife was flashing in his hand, and just as he was about to take a stab at me, the smith grabbed his arm from behind.

I opened the man's linen robe, and there over his heart was a dagger-wound, and beneath the woman's fair breast was a like cruel stab, through which her life had ebbed away.

“I bet you two have really big plans. And might I say, that is just fab,” he said of Lynn's dress. “I'm glad someone noticed,” she replied, seeming to take a stab at me.

I'll give this thankless task a stab.

As yet, we don't know what the comparable figures will be like for the current financial year which ends in March 2022, but we can have a good stab at approximating them.

a horn stab

If you stab him in the heart he won't live long enough to retaliate.

"There the cause of death was soon ascertained ; the victim of this daring outrage had been stabbed to death from ear to ear with a long, sharp instrument, in shape like an antique stiletto, which […] was subsequently found under the cushions of the hansom.[…]"

Word Forms

• stabs
• stabbing
• stabbed

Synonyms for stab

Related Words

When Should You Use Stab?

Use stab when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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