stabbing

American

[stab-ing] / ˈstæb ɪŋ /

adjective

penetrating; piercing.

a stabbing pain.
emotionally wounding.

a stabbing remark.
incisive or trenchant.

a stabbing, satirical phrase.

Other Word Forms

stabbingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of stabbing

First recorded in 1590–1600; stab + -ing ²

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Katja Snoeijs realised something was wrong when she felt "stabbing" pains and was forced off at half-time against West Ham last season.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

He was doing chin-ups during a workout when he experienced a new kind of stabbing pain in his hand.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

Hollywood often depicts the office as a shark tank, with ruthless colleagues stabbing backs, stepping over others or selling their souls to get to the top.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 29, 2025

Aleix Febas fired the hosts ahead before Dean Huijsen levelled for the league leaders, with Bellingham stabbing home from close range after Alvaro Rodriguez blasted Elche back in front.

From Barron's • Nov. 23, 2025

I imagined myself writing longhand, an old-fashioned dip pen stabbing furiously into a bottle of black ink and then scratching with amazing precision across sheets of white paper.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023