Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To shift a fore-and-aft sail from one side of a vessel to the other while sailing before the wind so as to sail on the opposite tack.
  • intransitive verb To cause (a sail) to jibe.
  • noun The act of jibing.
  • intransitive verb To be in accord; agree.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun See gibe.
  • Nautical, to cause (a fore-and-aft sail) to swing over to the other side when the wind is aft or on the quarter.
  • Nautical, to change from one tack to the other without going about; shift a fore-and-aft Bail from one side to the other when the wind is aft or on the quarter.
  • To agree; be in harmony or accord; work together: as, the two plans did not seem to jibe.
  • A less common form of jib.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb (Naut.) To shift, as the boom of a fore-and-aft sail, from one side of a vessel to the other when the wind is aft or on the quarter. See gybe.
  • intransitive verb (Naut.) To change a ship's course so as to cause a shifting of the boom. See jibe, v. t., and gybe.
  • intransitive verb colloq. To agree; to harmonize.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A facetious or insulting remark, a jeer or taunt.
  • noun nautical A manoeuver in which the stern of a sailing boat or ship crosses the wind.
  • noun nautical sudden sweep of the boom of a sailboat across from one side of the boat to the other.
  • verb intransitive, nautical To perform a jibe
  • verb intransitive To agree.
  • verb transitive, nautical To cause to execute a jibe

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb shift from one side of the ship to the other
  • noun an aggressive remark directed at a person like a missile and intended to have a telling effect
  • verb be compatible, similar or consistent; coincide in their characteristics

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Alteration (perhaps influenced by jib) of gybe, from obsolete Dutch gijben.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Origin unknown.]

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Examples

  • Aaaand, just like the "omg, 90% of the Chrysler dealerships closed were owned by Republicans" garbage, this fun little math jibe is total crap.

    Polls: Obama being judged for actions, not promises 2009

  • Cue the wingnuts to claim that this mild political jibe is hate speech.

    Reid takes dig at Palin in reelection launch 2010

  • And while your whole jibe is aimed at business and rocking out your career life, what if your question of “What am I afraid of?” was applied to relationships?

    I want to join Fight Club | Johnny B. Truant 2010

  • I do not believe in unilateral disarmament, but I do believe the truth-telling jibe is always mightier than the partisan grunt.

    Think Progress » Malkin Doesn’t Understand How Congress Works 2005

  • The standard reply to the Work at Tescos” jibe is “Well if you were a manager at Tescos you would have bankrupted them years ago” on January 1, 2010 at 3: 17 pm Sherriff Roscoe.

    If Carlsberg Made Justice Secretaries………… « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2009

  • The title is in honour of Australia’s first female deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, jibe from the enlightened Mr Heffernan – stating she was unfit for leadership because she was” deliberately barren”.

    Archive 2008-09-01 Another Outspoken Female 2008

  • The title is in honour of Australia’s first female deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, jibe from the enlightened Mr Heffernan – stating she was unfit for leadership because she was” deliberately barren”.

    a coming out of sorts Another Outspoken Female 2008

  • These terms jibe nicely with Mr. Putin's own rhetoric of threats and fear.

    Our Struggle Against Tyranny in Russia 2007

  • Cameron's office defended the prime minister, saying the jibe was a humorous remark referencing an insurance advertisement.

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • He is good with a political attack or jibe, which is appealing to voters trying to find the magic trick to beating an incumbent.

    Slate Articles John Dickerson 2011

Comments

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  • Accord v. barbed riposte.

    December 3, 2007

  • "That jibes with what Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine President Dr. Neal Barnard says in his book, The Power of Your Plate, in which he explains that 'early humans had diets very much like other great apes, which is to say a largely plant-based diet, drawing on foods we can pick with our hands.'"

    - Kathy Freston, Shattering The Meat Myth: Humans Are Natural Vegetarians, huffingtonpost.com, 11 June 2009.

    I'd never come across this use of jibe until today.

    June 13, 2009