From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishstabstab1 /stæb/ ●●○ verb (stabbed, stabbing) 1 [transitive]HARM/BE BAD FOR to push a knife into someone or something → stabbing He was stabbed to death in a fight.stab somebody in the heart/arm etc She had been stabbed in the chest repeatedly.► see thesaurus at attack2 [intransitive, transitive]PUSH to make quick pushing movements with your finger or something pointed SYN jab He raised his voice and stabbed the air with his pen.3 → stab somebody in the back→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
stab• Betty Carroll was stabbed 61 times and left to die on the floor of her Escondido home.• Her assailant lunged, stabbing at her again and again.• Tracy Barrett, 20, stabbed black magic follower Ian Clark, 59, several times with six steak knives.• He had been stabbed fourteen times.• Luca stabbed her in the thigh with a breadknife.• There was a scuffle and Murray was stabbed in the chest.• Meyers was stabbed once in the abdomen and once in the neck.• Gail's stabbed outside a nightclub..• Maria was stabbed seven-teen times and died that night.• The victim had been stabbed six times.• He stabbed the brake, stabbed too hard, and his back wheels slurred in the dirt.• Half a block away, a woman is raped and stabbed to death behind an abandoned church.• Kitty Davison was found stabbed to death one night in 1997.stabbed to death• He'd been stabbed to death.• The two Leeds supporters were believed to have been stabbed to death after an argument with workmen.• In 1839 John Ridge Senior, a Cherokee, was stabbed to death before the eyes of his twelve-year-old son.• Half a block away, a woman is raped and stabbed to death behind an abandoned church.• Major's partner in crime was later stabbed to death during another raid.• Two men were stabbed to death during the riot.• He got out his knife but stabbed to death his brother, who was attempting to restrain him.• Poolroom murder: Man stabbed to death in hotel fight.• Murray Pugh, a trainee P-E teacher, was stabbed to death last weekend.stabstab2 noun [countable] 1 HARM/BE BAD FORan act of stabbing or trying to stab someone with a knife severe stab wounds a stab victim He killed him with a stab to the heart.2 → stab of pain/disappointment/fear etc3 → stab at (doing) something4 → stab in the backExamples from the Corpus
stab• So that everybody can have a stab at it.• For one incredible moment, Merrill knew a stab of envy of Elise.• I knew the day and the month and made a stab at the year.• There have been several other attempts with the Department of Defense that took a stab at a new vehicle.• Paltrow plays a spoiled young busybody who makes a disastrous stab at matchmaking.• She stretched, and little stabs of pain shot through her.• Sims had multiple stab wounds to his chest and neck.• Wood avoided goalie Kelly Hrudey's stab at the puck before scoring.• She managed to subdue the stab of jealousy that image brought. 