Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To make taunting, heckling, or jeering remarks.
- intransitive verb To deride with taunting remarks.
- noun A derisive remark.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To utter taunting or sarcastic words; rail; sneer; scoff: absolutely or with at.
- Synonyms Jeer, Scoff, etc. See
sneer . - To speak of or to with taunting or sarcastic words; deride; scoff at; rail at; ridicule.
- Nautical See
jibe . - noun A tauntingly or contemptuously sarcastic remark; a scoff; a railing; an expression of sarcastic scorn.
- noun Synonyms Taunt, jeer, sneer, fleer, insult, reproach.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To reproach with contemptuous words; to deride; to scoff at; to mock.
- noun An expression of sarcastic scorn; a sarcastic jest; a scoff; a taunt; a sneer.
- intransitive verb To cast reproaches and sneering expressions; to rail; to utter taunting, sarcastic words; to flout; to fleer; to scoff.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
facetious orinsulting remark; ajeer ortaunt . - verb intransitive To perform a jibe (2, 3).
- verb intransitive To agree.
- verb transitive To cause to execute a gibe (2, 3).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb laugh at with contempt and derision
- verb be compatible, similar or consistent; coincide in their characteristics
- noun an aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Paddy Ashdown, a former leader of the Liberal Democrats who took part in the IPPR study, recalled the gibe by the late U.S. secretary of state Dean Acheson in 1962: "Great Britain has lost an empire and has not yet found a role."
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To a thoroughly serious person, to a person like Lord Chesterfield (who was indeed very serious in his own way, and abhorred proverbial philosophy), or to one who cannot away with the introduction of a quip in connection with a solemn subject, and who thinks that indulgence in a gibe is a clear proof that the writer has no solid argument to produce, Fuller must be nothing but a puzzle or a disgust.
A History of Elizabethan Literature George Saintsbury 1889
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We have seen the kind of gibe with which Agricola's eloquence was greeted at Pavia.
The Age of Erasmus Lectures Delivered in the Universities of Oxford and London 1901
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They will be bold that may venture to break a gibe on the man-at-arms for the follies of the page; and I trust, that ere we return I shall have done something more worthy of note than hallooing a hound after a deer, or scrambling a crag for a kite’s nest.”
The Abbot 2008
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"I want to make the tax code so simple that even Timothy Geithner can file his taxes on time," he said, in a gibe at the current Treasury secretary, whose tax fumbles emerged during his confirmation hearings.
Perry Takes Up Flat-Tax Banner John D. McKinnon 2011
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She did not dignify his gibe with an answer but instead remained focused on texting, her speeding thumbs a blur.
Parents Behaving Badly Scott Gummer 2011
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I did not weep; but I knelt down, and, with a full heart, thanked my guiding spirit for conducting me in safety to the place where I hoped, notwithstanding my adversary's gibe, to meet and grapple with him.
Chapter 7 2010
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Miller R-Manassas on Thursday for making fiery claims about illegal immigrants and the law that VACOLAO says don't gibe with the facts.
Virginia Latino groups challenge Manassas delegate's claims Fredrick Kunkle 2011
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But when speaking of expenses on Monday's earnings call, finance chief John Gerspach discovered a good way to get a gibe in at rivals: We don't have a great name for this.
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She did not dignify his gibe with an answer but instead remained focused on texting, her speeding thumbs a blur.
Parents Behaving Badly Scott Gummer 2011
damoredesigns commented on the word gibe
Hard word to define
June 23, 2011