as in stabs
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object
jabbed a pickle and tossed it on the plate
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of jabs
Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026
The Chicago Cubs started the fall with some jabs, signing a handful of relievers to create a deeper bullpen.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2026
The pediatricians’ group also continues to recommend the long-standing practice of a single shot combining the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and varicella vaccines in order to limit the number of jabs children get.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
The potential candidate is increasingly taking jabs at the mayor, including in December as the mayor criticized investor Michael Sacks for helping to bankroll opposition to his corporate head tax proposal.
—Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
Upon announcing Threads, Zuckerberg took jabs at Musk on X, posting the meme of two identical Spider-Mans pointing at one another.
—Conor Murray, Forbes.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Throughout the outage, T-Mobile and AT&T took jabs at their competitor on social media, while also touching on why some of their customers might be encountering issues.
—David Chiu, PEOPLE, 15 Jan. 2026
After making history last year as the first woman to host solo, Glaser is surely cooking up some blush-inducing zingers to top last year's viral jabs.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Jan. 2026
Sophomore Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser, whose searing opening monologue had everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio to Julia Roberts taking jabs in stride.
—Alli Rosenbloom, CNN Money, 11 Jan. 2026
Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Haggard jabs Baird over mailers The race is already tense.
—Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar, 13 Aug. 2025
His finger jabs on the second-to-last page, at the postscript.
—Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Feb. 2025
Noun
In addition to OpenAI running an ad, its competitor Anthropic is airing its first Super Bowl commercial about its Claude system and lobbing jabs at OpenAI about its addition of ads into ChatGPT.
—Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026
The Chicago Cubs started the fall with some jabs, signing a handful of relievers to create a deeper bullpen.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2026
The pediatricians’ group also continues to recommend the long-standing practice of a single shot combining the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and varicella vaccines in order to limit the number of jabs children get.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
The potential candidate is increasingly taking jabs at the mayor, including in December as the mayor criticized investor Michael Sacks for helping to bankroll opposition to his corporate head tax proposal.
—Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
Upon announcing Threads, Zuckerberg took jabs at Musk on X, posting the meme of two identical Spider-Mans pointing at one another.
—Conor Murray, Forbes.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Throughout the outage, T-Mobile and AT&T took jabs at their competitor on social media, while also touching on why some of their customers might be encountering issues.
—David Chiu, PEOPLE, 15 Jan. 2026
After making history last year as the first woman to host solo, Glaser is surely cooking up some blush-inducing zingers to top last year's viral jabs.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Jan. 2026
Sophomore Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser, whose searing opening monologue had everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio to Julia Roberts taking jabs in stride.
—Alli Rosenbloom, CNN Money, 11 Jan. 2026
Verb
Srinivas, who often jabs the search engine giant, made an interesting point.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Haggard jabs Baird over mailers The race is already tense.
—Kayla Dwyer, IndyStar, 13 Aug. 2025
His finger jabs on the second-to-last page, at the postscript.
—Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jabs
Noun
-
Only invite friends and relatives who are willing to discuss Bill Belichick and Tom Brady without punches being thrown.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2026
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From that moment forward, the two Bay State Conference foes traded punches throughout, exchanging one run after the next.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Bautista stabs and shoots his assailants in an operatic eruption of violence that is done in a single, extended shot.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Milo tries to be a hero, trying to use pepper spray on Morgan, but Morgan stabs and kills him.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Last weekend, while hosting the 2026 Grammy Awards, comedian Trevor Noah took digs at her in front of music's biggest stars.—
Taylor Ardrey,
USA Today,
3 Feb. 2026
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The boutique hotel sits on eight acres fronting a prime sliver of pink-sand beach, with a total of 41 accommodations, including seafront and garden cottages, the main inn, and stand-alone beachside residences, so guests can choose digs that fit their travel vibe.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But Anderson punctures his weed haze with the bright light of a past that in actuality never dimmed, when Lockjaw begins to hunt Pat and Willa.—
Angelica Jade Bastién,
Vulture,
24 Nov. 2025
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Recounting his visit with Shelton’s body after she’d been taken off of life support in From Bleak to Dark, Maron punctures the somber scene with a joke about taking a selfie.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Pepsi has for decades taken pokes at rival Coke in an endless array of commercials, but this time, the youth-skewing cola company really means business.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
29 Jan. 2026
-
A lot of times, these hot-button issues that are pressed, those little pokes, are more nuanced than they’re portrayed.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
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According to him, the goal is to build a system that modernizes the full lifecycle of a prescription from the moment it’s written to when the patient picks it up, and ideally beyond.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Her top picks for what to turn to instead include burgundy and oxblood.—
Sarah Lyon,
The Spruce,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Nothing that pierces the skin should ever be used as leverage over a child's opportunity to education and to learn.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
12 Dec. 2025
-
Nicole Kidman's stare pierces the room.—
Jennifer Brett,
Nashville Tennessean,
16 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Progress sticks when compassion ensures that everyone gets heard.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
6 Feb. 2026
-
But this is not the substance of the speech that sticks.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Jabs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jabs. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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