Dictionary

stab

Pronunciation: (stab), [key]
—v., stabbed, stab•bing,
—n.

—v.t.
1. to pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon: She stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork.
2. to thrust, plunge, or jab (a knife, pointed weapon, or the like) into something: He stabbed the knife into the man's chest.
3. to penetrate sharply or painfully: Their misery stabbed his conscience.
4. to make a piercing, thrusting, or pointing motion at or in: He stabbed me in the chest with his finger. The speaker stabbed the air in anger.

—v.i.
1. to thrust with or as if with a knife or other pointed weapon: to stab at an attacker.
2. to deliver a wound, as with a pointed weapon.
3. stab (someone) in the back, to do harm to (someone), esp. to a friend or to a person who is unsuspecting or in a defenseless position.

—n.
1. the act of stabbing.
2. a thrust or blow with, or as if with, a pointed weapon.
3. an attempt; try: Make a stab at an answer before giving up.
4. a wound made by stabbing.
5. a sudden, brief, and usually painful, sensation: He felt a stab of pain in his foot. A stab of pity ran through her.
6. stab in the back, an act of treachery.