Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use stab in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb

Stab means an act of stabbing or thrusting with an object to hurt or kill someone. Example: “I'll give this thankless task a stab.”

Examples of stab by meaning

nounAn act of stabbing or thrusting with an object to hurt or kill someone.

  • 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.1979, Karl May, The Secret Brotherhood: A Novel, Seabury Press, →ISBN, page 52

nounPain inflicted on a person's feelings.

  • “I'm glad someone noticed,” she replied, seeming to take a stab at me.2001, Van Whitfield, Guys in Suits: A Novel, Doubleday, →ISBN, page 73

nounAn attempt.

  • I'll give this thankless task a stab.
  • As yet, we don't know what the comparable figures will be like for the current financial year which ends in March 2022, but we can have a good stab at approximating them.2022 January 12, Sir Michael Holden, “Reform of the workforce or death by a thousand cuts?”, in RAIL, number 948, page 22

nounA single staccato chord that adds dramatic impact to a composition.

  • a horn stab

verbTo pierce or to wound (somebody) with a (usually pointed) tool or weapon, especially a knife or dagger.

  • If you stab him in the heart he won't live long enough to retaliate.

verbTo thrust in a stabbing motion.

  • to stab a dagger into a person

verbTo recklessly hit with the tip of a (usually pointed) object, such as a weapon or finger (often used with at).

  • He stabbed at my face with the twig but luckily kept missing my eyes.

verbTo cause a sharp, painful sensation (often used with at).

  • The snow from the blizzard was stabbing at my face as I skied down the mountain.

More sentences with stab

  • One of them got stuck in a chokehold and got stabbed to death during the fight.From the entry fight
  • He took out his sword and stabbed the man in the stomach.From the entry sword
  • Ernest made the pencil too sharp and accidentally stabbed himself with it.From the entry sharp
  • After being stabbed, he went into survival mode until he got to the hospital.From the entry mode
  • You can't trust somebody that opportunistic: he'll stab you in the back the first chance he gets.From the entry opportunistic
  • Would you like to take a stab at explaining the theory?From the entry take a stab at
  • I'll take a stab at the answer, but I don't really know for sure.From the entry take a stab at
  • Too much running gives me a stabbing pain in the chest.From the entry stabbing
  • After seeing his sister stabbed to death, he went berserk and attacked the killer like a wild animal.From the entry berserk
  • After he was stabbed, blood came gushing out his throat.From the entry gush
  • A stab of fear pierced my heart.From the entry pierce
  • A stabbing took place in the alley last night.From the entry stabbing
  • If you will stab your opponent in the back, it must be with a velvet glove on your hand and the sweetest smile on your face.From the entry velvet glove
  • Can't believe you defeated Grumf!" She laughed, then stabbed the air with an imanginary sword.2025, Cube Kid [pseudonym; Erik Gunnar Taylor], Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior: Hour of Enchantment, page 117. From the entry sagely
  • You could get stabbed.’ I thought, ‘That is true.’ But I was peeved.”2023 September 21, Sirin Kale, quoting Megan Kedzlie, “Life in bike theft Britain: ‘Afterwards, I couldn’t face going outside’”, in The…. From the entry peeved
  • No more getting stabbed in the thigh by these too-short monsters.2021, Tao Wong, Adventures on Brad: Books 1-6, Starlit Publishing, →ISBN. From the entry chausse
  • He'll scare you and stab you, and tear out a hairful!2019, James M. Campbell, One Night in the House of the Creepy Santas. From the entry hairful
  • He compliments their bravery in stabbing a pregnant woman and her fetus to death.2017 July 16, Brandon Nowalk, “Chickens and Dragons Come Home to Roost on Game of Thrones (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the…. From the entry keel over
  • Everyone’s been stabbed in the back at some point or another.2017 November, N. K. Jemisin, Mac Walters, chapter 5, in Mass Effect Andromeda: Initiation, 1st edition (Science Fiction), Titan Books…. From the entry stab in the back
  • Turkey: a politics of memory that makes continuous stabs at the Armenification or Kurdification of all violence.2017, Murat Akan, The Politics of Secularism: Religion, Diversity, and Institutional Change in France and Turkey, Columbia University…. From the entry Armenification
  • He stabbed another forkful of ketchuppy eggs and waved it at me.2015, Ellie Cahill [pseudonym; Liz Czukas], When Joss Met Matt: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 54. From the entry ketchuppy
  • One of the three woman, Maria Garcia, testified she was stabbed 13 times by Genesis Matos-Ramirez.2015 July 10, “Women to face trial over street brawl stabbings”, in Allentown Morning Call. From the entry about that life
  • The dogdoctor stabbed me twice; like that's going to make me bouncy!2015 June 11, @TiasTales (HRH Princess Tia), Twitter, archived from the original on 25 Jul 2022. From the entry dogdoctor
  • This triggered his piquerism, the act of stabbing, slicing flesh for arousal.2013 January 21, “Pilot”, in The Following, season 1, episode 1, spoken by Mike Weston (Shawn Ashmore). From the entry piquerism
  • I stab, stab, stabbed at my lettuce, trying for another sporkful.2008, Deborah Halverson, Big Mouth, Delacorte Press, page 186. From the entry sporkful
  • An ice pick of cold stabbed into the back of Jason’s left eye.2007, Alex Duval, Ritual (Vampire Beach), Simon Pulse, →ISBN, page 17. From the entry ice-cream headache
  • Flynn, once we reach Orleans." Jack gasped like a man stabbed.2005, Ross Eddy Osborn, Thorns of a Tainted Rose. From the entry gamely
  • Desire stabbed me, there with my hands on the nappy table.1996, Sue Woolfe, “Ghosts”, in Debra Adelaide, editor, Motherlove: Stories About Birth, Babies and Beyond, Adelaide: Random House…. From the entry nappy table
  • That day, my knee caps stabbed two soldiers in their kidneys.1987, Michael Chiang, Army Daze, Landmark Books, →ISBN, page 65. From the entry ke belakang pusing
  • Normal A-7 departure procedures also call for disengaging all modes except yaw stab of the AFCS.1981 March, Bruce P. Eaton, “Expect the unexpected”, in Dale E. Smith, editor, Approach: The Naval Aviation Safety Review, volume 26…. From the entry hamfist
  • In geomancy, the enquirer himself was asked to stab the earth at random with a pointed stick.1973, K. Ellis, Prediction and Prophecy, page 61. From the entry geomancy

Meaning of stab

  1. noun An act of stabbing or thrusting with an object to hurt or kill someone.
  2. noun A wound made by stabbing.
  3. noun Pain inflicted on a person's feelings.

Full definition of stab

Questions about stab in a sentence

How do you use stab in a sentence?
Stab is used as a noun and verb. For example: “I'll give this thankless task a stab.”
What is a short sentence with stab?
“a horn stab”
What does stab mean?
Stab means an act of stabbing or thrusting with an object to hurt or kill someone.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: stab (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use stab in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/stab. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.