Advertisement
Advertisement
make a stab at
Idioms and Phrases
Try to do something, as in I don't know the answer but I'll make a stab at it . This expression derives from stab in the sense of “a vigorous thrust.” [Late 1800s] Also see make a pass at , def. 2.Example Sentences
Steven Rogers, a St. Louis University political science professor, took a national survey in 2018 and asked people to name their state representative — or at least make a stab at it.
Teasdale had been struggling to make a stab at a solo career as a self-consciously kooky singer-pianist.
Perseverance will make a stab at that, but human rock hounds, capable of traveling far over difficult terrain, climbing, digging, doing delicate work and intuitively following up clues, can do that job vastly better.
It’s not feasible for everyone to fix their own wounds from childhood before becoming a parent, but I encourage you to make a stab at it, if at all possible.
In the meantime, however, allow me to make a stab at offering the most preliminary of answers.
Advertisement
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse