Stab meaning in English
Learn how to use Stab correctly with Gymglish.
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Definition
to stab (someone): to cut, to hurt (someone) with a knife
a stab (in the heart): a cut, an injury (in the heart)
a stab in the back a betrayal, a treason
Examples
- "Like bull stabbing, scuba javelin, horse hockey."
- "Okay, I'm getting ready to stab."
- "Bruno had been poisoned and his body mutilated in many ways - cigarette burns, bullet wounds, stab wounds, teeth marks, etc."
Exercise 1
True or False? At the end of their conversation, Susie stabs Warbuckle with a knife.
True or False? At the end of their conversation, Susie stabs Warbuckle with a knife.
This statement is not true.
This statement is false. Warbuckle uses the figurative expression "why don't you just twist a knife in my heart?" to express his surprise at all the concessions Susie is asking him to make. It doesn't mean that Susie literally "stabbed" Warbuckle in the heart. To stab (someone) is to plunge a knife into them. The verb "to twist" describes the act of "turning" or "rotating" (in this case a knife into someone's heart).
Exercise 2
Idiom alert!
Horatio uses the expression "to stab someone in the back".
To stab literally means to .
Horatio uses the expression "to stab someone in the back".
To stab literally means to .
Idiom alert!
Horatio uses the expression "to stab someone in the back".
To stab literally means to pierce with a blade.
Horatio uses the expression "to stab someone in the back".
To stab literally means to pierce with a blade.
pierce with a blade: This is correct. To "stab" describes "thrusting" or "plunging" a blade (such a "knife" or a "dagger", for example), usually into someone's body. For example: The woman was stabbed seven times with a knife but survived. The verb here is used as part of the expression "to stab someone in the back", which describes the act of "betraying" someone.
slap with the hand: This is incorrect. "Stabbing" describes "piercing", not "slapping", which is usually done with the palm or back of one's hand. Did you know: the expression "to give someone a slap (or pat) on the back" means to congratulate them.
say bad things: This is incorrect. "Stabbing" describes "piercing", not "saying bad things". Did you know: the expression "to say (or do) something behind someone's back" is to do it without the knowledge or approval of another.
scratch: This is incorrect. "Stabbing" describes "piercing", not "scratching", which describes rubbing, scraping, or tearing with something sharp or rough on the surface of something. Example: Can you scratch my back? I have an itch.
punch with the fist: This is incorrect. "Stabbing" describes "piercing", not "punching", which describes hitting or striking someone with a closed "fist" (the hand in the form of a ball). Example: I was in the supermarket and somebody punched me in the face. It was weird, then I forgot to buy onions.
Exercise 3
Moira and Brent mention a little boy at Balcomfrie Castle. How did the little boy die?
Moira and Brent mention a little boy at Balcomfrie Castle. How did the little boy die?
This is the correct answer. Moira tells us that the "little boy starved to death in the dungeon". To "starve" is to be deprived of food and nourishment. If you "starve to death" then you die of "hunger". Note that the verb "to starve" is often used idiomatically to exaggerate great hunger: "I'm starving! Let's get a taco."
This is incorrect. Moira tells us that the boy in the castle he "starved to death". To "stab (someone)" is to thrust or push a knife (or other sharp object) into their body with great force, causing an injury or wound.
This is incorrect. Death isn't a consequence of not listening to Radio Rhubarb...although I wouldn't want to test this theory!
This is incorrect. The boy in the castle "starved to death", he wasn't "scared to death".
This is incorrect. Moira says that it is possible to see the ghost of a little boy who died at the castle. The ghost (or phantom) she is referring to was the little boy himself. A "ghost" is the spirit of a person who has died. Some people believe that ghosts or spirits remain in the place where the person died.
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