jab

Originally a Scottish (unclear if Scots or Scottish English) form of English job (“peck, poke, thrust”), from Middle English jobben.

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒæb/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æb

jab (plural jabs)

1. A quick stab or blow; a poking or thrusting motion.
   • 1952, Bernard Malamud, The Natural, Chapter 9:

     He tore in for the ball, make a running jab for it and held it.

2. (boxing) A short straight punch.
   • 2011 December 18, Ben Dirs, “Carl Froch outclassed by dazzling Andre Ward”, in BBC Sport‎:

     American Ward was too quick and too slick for his British rival, landing at will with razor sharp jabs and hooks and even bullying Froch at times.

3. (Britain) A medical hypodermic injection (vaccination or inoculation)

   Our dog was exposed to rabies, so the whole family went to a clinic to get our jabs.

4. (Britain, Australia, New Zealand) A vaccination, whether or not delivered via conventional injection.
   • 2017 June 28, Michelle Roberts, “Painless flu jab patch for people scared of injections”, in BBC News‎:

     A 'painless' sticking plaster flu jab that delivers vaccine into the skin has passed important safety tests in the first trial in people.

5. (US, figurative) A mild verbal insult.

jab (third-person singular simple present jabs, present participle jabbing, simple past and past participle jabbed)

1. To poke or thrust abruptly, or to make such a motion.
2. To deliver a quick punch.
3. (slang, UK) To give someone an injection

• double-jab

• Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “jab”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Borrowed from English job.

jab m (genitive singular jab, nominative plural jabanna)

1. job, piece of work
2. post, employment

• jabaire m (“(cattle-)jobber”)

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “jab”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Borrowed from English jab.

jab m (invariable)

1. jab (boxing punch)

• (phonetic) IPA^(key): [tʲɑpˠ]
• (phonemic) IPA^(key): /tʲæpˠ/
• Bender phonemes: {jab}

jab

1. full of, fully

jab

1. not ... the

jab

1. direction

• jabjab
• likjab

• Marshallese–English Online Dictionary
• "jab" in The Dictionary at Marshallese.org

jab m (plural jabs)

1. (boxing) jab