stab
/stæb/noun, verb, adjective
stab is spelled S-T-A-B: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 6.0 times per million words in written English, the 9,878th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, stab means “An act of stabbing or thrusting with an object to hurt or kill someone” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of stab is stabs.
How many letters and syllables are in stab?
| Letters | 4: S-T-A-B |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 6.0 times per million words; the 9,878th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is stab?
Stab appears 6.0 times per million words in written English, the 9,878th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce stab?
- /stæb/
Stab has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-stab.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with stab?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as stab.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: bats, bast.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of stab
- stabs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- stabbing participle, present
- stabbed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does stab mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An act of stabbing or thrusting with an object to hurt or kill someone.
- 2
A wound made by stabbing.
- 3
Pain inflicted on a person's feelings.
- 4
informalAn attempt.
I'll give this thankless task a stab.
- 5
Criticism.
- 6
A single staccato chord that adds dramatic impact to a composition.
a horn stab
- 7
A bacterial culture made by inoculating a solid medium, such as gelatin, with the puncture of a needle or wire.
- 8
slangThe horizontal or vertical stabilizer of an aircraft.
- 9
Clipping of establishment.
verb
- 1
To 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.
- 2
To thrust in a stabbing motion.
to stab a dagger into a person
- 3
To 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.
- 4
To 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.
- 5
To injure secretly or by malicious falsehood or slander.
to stab a person's reputation
- 6
To roughen a brick wall with a pick so as to hold plaster.
- 7
To pierce folded sheets, near their back edges, for the passage of thread or wire.
- 8
To guide the end of a pipe into a coupling when making up a connection.
noun
- 1
slangA 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).
adjective
- 1
Clipping of established.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Stab in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | percée , poignarder, frapper d'un coup de couteau |
| German | Stich , stechen, erstechen, niederstechen , Stichwunde |
| Portuguese | punhalada, facada , apunhalar, esfaquear, chinar |
| Spanish | puñalada, cuchillada, acuchillamiento, estocada , apuñalar, acuchillar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does stab come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).