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Stab

//stæb// adj, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Adjective

1
Clipping of established. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, not-comparable
"Do you know whether any country offices pay their men by the thousand, or whether they are on stab wages? — I do not know. Some are paid stab wages, but I do not know whether there is much piece-work."

Noun

1
An act of stabbing or thrusting with an object.
"A knife was flashing in his hand, and just as he was about to take a stab at me, the smith grabbed his arm from behind."
2
The horizontal or vertical stabilizer of an aircraft. slang
"If the pilots used electric pitch trim, it would only pause MCAS for 5s; to deactivate it you have to switch off the STAB TRIM CUTOUT switches."
3
Clipping of establishment. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, no-plural
"[…] there were 286 overseers and 210 readers occupied in the 501 offices; 2,691 compositors were paid on the stab […]"
4
A 50% damage boost applied when a Pokémon uses a move with the same type as itself (for example, an Electric-type Pokémon using an Electric-type move). slang, uncountable
5
informal words for any attempt or effort wordnet

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6
A wound made by stabbing.
"I opened the man's linen robe, and there over his heart was a dagger-wound, and beneath the woman's fair breast was a like cruel stab, through which her life had ebbed away."
7
a strong blow with a knife or other sharp pointed instrument wordnet
8
Pain inflicted on a person's feelings.
"“I bet you two have really big plans. And might I say, that is just fab,” he said of Lynn's dress. “I'm glad someone noticed,” she replied, seeming to take a stab at me."
9
a sudden sharp feeling wordnet
10
An attempt. informal
"I'll give this thankless task a stab."
11
Criticism.
12
A single staccato chord that adds dramatic impact to a composition.
"a horn stab"
13
A bacterial culture made by inoculating a solid medium, such as gelatin, with the puncture of a needle or wire.

Verb

1
To pierce or to wound (somebody) with a (usually pointed) tool or weapon, especially a knife or dagger. transitive
"If you stab him in the heart he won't live long enough to retaliate."
2
poke or thrust abruptly wordnet
3
To thrust in a stabbing motion. transitive
"to stab a dagger into a person"
4
stab or pierce wordnet
5
To recklessly hit with the tip of a (usually pointed) object, such as a weapon or finger (often used with at). intransitive
"He stabbed at my face with the twig but luckily kept missing my eyes."

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6
use a knife on wordnet
7
To cause a sharp, painful sensation (often used with at). intransitive
"The snow from the blizzard was stabbing at my face as I skied down the mountain."
8
To injure secretly or by malicious falsehood or slander. figuratively, transitive
"to stab a person's reputation"
9
To roughen a brick wall with a pick so as to hold plaster. transitive
10
To pierce folded sheets, near their back edges, for the passage of thread or wire. transitive
11
To guide the end of a pipe into a coupling when making up a connection. transitive
"[O]ne of the derrickman's jobs is to "stab" the pipe."

Etymology

Etymology 1

First attested in Scottish English (compare Scots stob, stobbe, stabb (“a pointed stick or stake; a thrust with a pointed weapon”)), from Middle English stabbe (“a stab”), probably a variant of Middle English stob, stub, stubbe (“pointed stick, stake, thorn, stub, stump”), from Old Norse stobbi, stubbi, cognate with Old English stybb. Cognate with Middle Dutch stobbe. Supposed by some to derive from Scottish Gaelic stob (“to prick, to prod, to push, to thrust”); supposed by others to be from a Scots word.

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

Clipping of stabilizer or stabiliser.

Etymology 4

Acronym of same-type attack bonus.

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