stabbed; stabbing
1
: to wound or pierce by the thrust of a pointed object or weapon
: to thrust or give a wound with or as if with a pointed weapon
stabber
noun
see also stab in the back
Examples of stab in a Sentence
Noun
the injection left a small stab on her upper arm
everybody will get a stab at solving the problem
Verb
He stabbed her with a dagger.
The victim was stabbed in the chest five times.
Recent Examples on the Web
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 11 Feb. 2026
Dress shoe hybrids are also becoming more common in the wider world of sneakers, with Nike, Saucony and more taking their stabs at the trend.
—Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 11 Feb. 2026
Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 14 Feb. 2026
Mohammed Ahmad Hussein al-Halsi was sentenced in 2016 to 18 years behind bars for stabbing elderly women.
—Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stab
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Noun
Other versions, like Andrea Arnold’s brilliant 2011 stab at adapting Brontë’s parable, push the book’s racial aspects and class divide to the forefront.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 11 Feb. 2026
Dress shoe hybrids are also becoming more common in the wider world of sneakers, with Nike, Saucony and more taking their stabs at the trend.
—Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 11 Feb. 2026
Verb
Once inside, officers encountered a woman who told them Bilger stabbed her hours earlier in the shoulder and again in the abdomen shortly before the neighbor came to the door, prosecutor’s said.
—Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 14 Feb. 2026
Mohammed Ahmad Hussein al-Halsi was sentenced in 2016 to 18 years behind bars for stabbing elderly women.
—Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stab
Cite this Entry
“Stab.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stab. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
stab
1 of 2 noun1
: a wound produced by a pointed object or weapon
2
: a thrust of a pointed weapon
3
: effort sense 2, try
I'll take a stab at it
stab
2 of 2 verb
stabbed; stabbing
1
: to wound or pierce by the thrust of a pointed object or weapon
stabber
noun
Medical Definition
stab
1 of 2 noun1
: a wound produced by a pointed object or weapon
2
a
: a culture medium solidified in an upright column in a tube to reduce the surface to a minimum compare slant
b
stab
2 of 2 transitive verb
stabbed; stabbing
: to wound or pierce by the thrust of a pointed object or weapon
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