What does "jar" mean?
An earthenware container, either with two or no handles, for holding oil, water, wine, etc., or used for burial.
Jar
/dʒɑː/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An earthenware container, either with two or no handles, for holding oil, water, wine, etc., or used for burial.
- Grammar: jar is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: jolt, shock, agitate, agitation.
- Useful contrasts: accord, agree, calm.
- Usage evidence: I wanted some salt, but there was none in the jar.
How to use "jar"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "jar" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "jar" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "jar" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "jar" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "jar" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "jolt" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "jar", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An earthenware container, either with two or no handles, for holding oil, water, wine, etc., or used for burial.
"She refilled the jar with peanuts today evening."
- 2 A clashing or discordant set of sounds, particularly with a quivering or vibrating quality. countable
- 3 Initialism of Java archive. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 4 a cylindrical vessel, typically used for storing food wordnet
- 5 A small, approximately cylindrical container, normally made of clay or glass, for holding fruit, preserves, etc., or for ornamental purposes.
"The Leyden jar is charged, like the condenser of Œpinus and the fulminating square, by making one of the armatures communicate with the earth and the other with the electric source."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 A quivering or vibrating movement or sensation resulting from something being shaken or struck. also, countable, figuratively
"[...] yet (good-deed) Leontes, I loue thee not a Iarre o'th' Clock, behind What Lady she her Lord. You'le stay?"
- 7 a sudden jarring impact wordnet
- 8 A container and its contents; as much as fills such a container; a jarful.
"A smaller plate was immersed, while the combustion was in active operation, in a glass jar of carbonic acid gas without any diminution of the incandescence of its surface, showing that the combustion is independent of the atmosphere in which takes place."
- 9 A sense of alarm or dismay. broadly, countable
- 10 the quantity contained in a jar wordnet
- 11 A pint glass British, Ireland, colloquial
- 12 The effect of something contradictory or discordant; a clash. countable
"Besides the jar of contrast there came to her a chill self-reproach that she had not returned sooner, to help her mother in these domesticities, instead of indulging herself out-of-doors."
- 13 A glass of beer or cider, served by the pint. British, Ireland, colloquial, metonymically
"About a shopping trolley, I thought I'd let ye know. Ya'd try to push it straight but it never seems ta go. Ya'd wobble through the car park, hopping off the cars. Anyone would think ya had a few auld jars."
- 14 A disagreement, a dispute, a quarrel; (uncountable) contention, discord; quarrelling. archaic, countable
"So loue does raine / In ſtouteſt minds, and maketh monſtrous warre; / He maketh warre, he maketh peace againe, / And yett his peace is but continuall iarre: / O miſerable men, that to him ſubject arre."
Verb
- 1 To preserve (food) in a jar. transitive
"It's important to consider the safety of jarring food. Eating food that has been spoiled because it wasn't jarred properly correctly can result in the disease botulism."
- 2 To knock, shake, or strike sharply, especially causing a quivering or vibrating movement. transitive
"He hit it with a hammer, hoping he could jar it loose."
- 3 place in a cylindrical vessel wordnet
- 4 To harm or injure by such action. transitive
- 5 affect in a disagreeable way wordnet
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 To shock or surprise. figuratively, transitive
"I think the accident jarred him, as he hasn’t got back in a car since."
- 7 move or cause to move with a sudden jerky motion wordnet
- 8 To act in disagreement or opposition, to clash, to be at odds with; to interfere; to dispute, to quarrel. figuratively, transitive
"VVhen thoſe renoumed^([sic – meaning renowned]) noble Peres of Greece, / thrugh ſtubborn pride amongſt theſelues did iar / forgetfull of the famous golden fleece, / then Orpheus vvith his harp theyr ſtrife did bar."
- 9 shock physically wordnet
- 10 To (cause something to) give forth a rudely tremulous or quivering sound; to (cause something to) sound discordantly or harshly. ambitransitive
"The clashing notes jarred on my ears."
- 11 be incompatible; be or come into conflict wordnet
- 12 To quiver or vibrate due to being shaken or struck. intransitive
- 13 Of the appearance, form, style, etc., of people and things: to look strangely different; to stand out awkwardly from its surroundings; to be incongruent. figuratively, intransitive
Example
"I wanted some salt, but there was none in the jar."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "jar"?
Common synonyms include: jolt, shock, agitate, agitation, agree to disagree, amphora.
How do you use "jar" in a sentence?
I wanted some salt, but there was none in the jar.
How do you pronounce "jar"?
Pronounced /dʒɑː/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle English jarre (“jar”), from Medieval Latin jarra, or from Middle French jarre (“liquid measure”) (from Old French jare; modern French jarre (“earthenware jar”)), or from Spanish jarra, jarro (“jug, pitcher; mug, stein”), all from Arabic جَرَّة (jarra, “earthen receptacle”). The word is cognate with Italian giara (“jar; crock”), Occitan jarro, Portuguese jarra, jarro (“jug; ewer, pitcher”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Etymology 2
From earlier jar, jur, jarre, jurre, of uncertain origin. Possibly from earlier *char, *chur, *charre, *churre (now spelt chirr, churr (“to make a sound”); compare also nightjar and its variant nightchurr), from Middle English *chirren, *cherren, *churren (“to sound, cry, murmur, complain”), from Old English ċeorian (“to murmur, gripe, complain with just cause”), from Proto-West Germanic *karēn (“to complain”). For the change of ch to j, compare also charm, jarm (“chirping”); achar, ajar (“slightly turned or open”), chaw, jaw, etc. The noun is derived from the verb.