stab

UK: /ˈstæb/ US: /stæb/ ,(stab)

Inflections of 'stab' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

stabs

v 3rd person singular

stabbing

v pres p

stabbed

v past

stabbing

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

stab /stæb/   v., stabbed, stab•bing, n. 
v. 

1. to pierce with or as if with a pointed weapon:
   [~ + object] Romeo stabbed Tybalt and killed him.
2. to thrust or plunge (a knife, etc.) into something:
   [~ + object] He stabbed the knife straight into the victim's chest.
3. to make a jabbing motion on, at, or in (someone or something): [~ + at + object]
   Romeo stabbed at Mercutio with the knife.
   [~ + object]
   He stabbed the buttons and launched the rocket.

n. [countable]

4. the act of stabbing.
5. a thrust made with or as if with a pointed weapon.
6. an attempt;
   try:
   to make a stab at an answer.
7. a sudden, brief, painful sensation:
   a stab of pity.

Idioms

8. Idioms, Slang Terms stab in the back:
   • [~ + object + in the back] to betray (someone trusting):
     She stabbed him in the back by telling everyone about his private fears.
   • [countable] an act of betrayal:
     Telling him all my secrets was a vicious stab in the back.

-stab-, root. 

1. -stab- comes from Latin, where it has the meaning "stand.'' This meaning is found in such words as: establish, instability, stabilize, stable, unstable.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

stab (stab),  v., stabbed, stab•bing, n. 

v.t. 

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.

v.i. 

5. to thrust with or as if with a knife or other pointed weapon:
   to stab at an attacker.
6. to deliver a wound, as with a pointed weapon.
7. Slang Terms stab (someone) in the back, to do harm to (someone), esp. to a friend or to a person who is unsuspecting or in a defenseless position.

n. 

8. the act of stabbing.
9. a thrust or blow with, or as if with, a pointed weapon.
10. an attempt;
    try:
    Make a stab at an answer before giving up.
11. Pathology a wound made by stabbing.
12. a sudden, brief, and usually painful, sensation:
    He felt a stab of pain in his foot. A stab of pity ran through her.
13. Slang Terms stab in the back, an act of treachery.

• ?; (noun, nominal) late Middle English, akin to or derivative of the verb, verbal; compare Scots stob stub¹
• (verb, verbal) Middle English (Scots) stabben 1325–75

Synonyms

• 1. spear, penetrate, pin, transfix.

stab., 

1. stabilization.
2. stabilizer.
3. stable.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

stab / stæb/ verb (stabs, stabbing, stabbed)

1. (transitive) to pierce or injure with a sharp pointed instrument
2. (transitive) (of a sharp pointed instrument) to pierce or wound
3. when intr, often followed by at: to make a thrust (at); jab
4. (transitive) to inflict with a sharp pain
5. stab in the back ⇒ (verb) to do damage to the reputation of (a person, esp a friend) in a surreptitious way
6. (noun) a treacherous action or remark that causes the downfall of or injury to a person

noun

1. the act or an instance of stabbing
2. an injury or rift made by stabbing
3. a sudden sensation, esp an unpleasant one: a stab of pity
4. an attempt (esp in the phrase make a stab at)

Etymology: 14th Century: from stabbe stab wound; probably related to Middle English stob stick

ˈstabber noun