American English

Definition of stab verb from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary



    Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they stab
    he / she / it stabs
    past simple stabbed
    -ing form stabbing
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  1. 1[transitive] stab somebody to push a sharp pointed object, especially a knife, into someone, killing or injuring them He was stabbed to death in a racist attack. She stabbed him in the arm with a screwdriver.
  2. 2[transitive, intransitive] to make a short, aggressive, or violent movement with a finger or pointed object synonym jab, prod stab something (at/into/through something) He stabbed his finger angrily at my chest. She stabbed her cigarette into the ashtray. stab somebody/something (with something) She stabbed the air with her fork. stab at/into/through something (figurative) The pain stabbed at his chest.
  3. Idioms
    stab somebody in the back
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    to do or say something that harms someone who trusts you synonym betray
See the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary entry: stab