jab
part of speech
verb (jab, jabs, jabbed, jabbing); noun (a jab, jabs)
meaning for a pupil
1) To jab is to push something pointed quickly and hard into or at something, like a finger or stick. tree →
2) A jab is a quick, hard poke or punch. tree →
3) (informal, UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ) A jab is an injection, like a vaccine: "the flu jab". tree →
4) (informal) A jab is a short unkind remark: "a jab at her spelling". tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life and health: children get jabs (vaccinations) from the nurse. In boxing, a jab is a fast straight punch. In stories, a character jabs a finger or a stick. Phrases: flu jab, have a jab, jab at, take a jab at.
examples
- He jabbed me with his elbow. tree →
- We had our flu jabs at school. tree →
- The nurse said the jab would only sting a little. tree →
- She jabbed the button on the lift. tree →
- The boxer threw a quick jab. tree →
- Don't jab your pencil at people. tree →
- His joke was a jab at my messy hair. tree →
- All 28 children had the jab, in two groups of 14. tree →
note
Regular verb, double b: jabbed, jabbing. Informal; formal word for injection is vaccination or injection. In US English people say "shot" instead of "jab".
In the corpora
- Jabs and check-ups keep people well before they get ill.
- The flu jab is free for the over-sixty-fives because flu is much more dangerous for older people.
- Pharmacists can also give some vaccines, such as the flu jab for adults, and check blood pressure.
- Little children screaming at jabs aren't being naughty, and a calm older brother or sister holding their hand can really help.
- A sore arm or a slight fever for a day or two after a jab is the immune system responding, not the disease.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «jab» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.