jack
The definition of a jack is a machine used for lifting or moving something heavy.
(noun)An example of jack is what you would use to lift your car to change a flat tire.
A jack is defined as the lowest ranking card of the royal cards in a playing deck.
(noun)An example of jack is above the ten card and below the queen in points.
See jack in Webster's New World College Dictionary
- John
- Obsolete a common fellow or boy assistant
- a man or boy; fellow: sometimes used as a slang form of address
- Now Rare a sailor; jack-tar
- ☆ a lumberjack
- a jack-of-all-trades
- bootjack
- Monterey Jack
- smokejack
- a fruit-flavored alcoholic liquor, as applejack
- any of various machines used to lift, hoist, or move something heavy a short distance: hydraulic jack, automobile jack
- a wooden bar attached to each key of a harpsichord, etc. that raises the plectrum when the key is depressed
- a male donkey; jackass
- ☆ jack rabbit
- any of various birds, as a jackdaw
- any of a tropical, marine family (Carangidae) of predatory, silvery, percoid, game and food fishes with widely forked tails, including the pompanos and yellowtails
- jackfish
- ☆ Slang money
- Elec. a plug-in receptacle used to make electrical contact
- Games
- a playing card with a conventionalized picture of a royal male servant or soldier on it; knave
- a small ball used as the center mark in lawn bowling
- any of the small stones or six-pronged metal pieces used in playing jacks
- ☆ Hunting a torch or light used to attract fish or game at night
- Naut. a small flag usually flown on a ship's bow to show nationality, often, specif., union jack
Origin: ME Jacke, Jake < OFr Jaque, Jaques < LL(Ec) Jacobus, Jacob
transitive verb
- to raise by means of a jack
- ☆ to hunt or fish for with a light
adjective
- male: jackass
- large or strong: jackboot
- boy; fellow: used in hyphenated compounds: jack-in-the-box
Origin: see jack
See jack in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
- often Jack Informal A man; a fellow.
- a. One who does odd or heavy jobs; a laborer.b. One who works in a specified manual trade. Often used in combination: a lumberjack; a steeplejack.c. Jack A sailor; a tar.
- Abbr. J Games A playing card showing the figure of a servant or soldier and ranking below a queen. Also called knave.
- Games a. jacks (used with a sing. or pl. verb) A game played with a set of small six-pointed metal pieces and a small ball, the object being to pick up the pieces in various combinations.b. One of the metal pieces so used.
- Sports A pin used in some games of bowling.
- a. A usually portable device for raising heavy objects by means of force applied with a lever, screw, or hydraulic press.b. A wooden wedge for cleaving rock.
- A device used for turning a spit.
- Nautical a. A support or brace, especially the iron crosstree on a topgallant masthead.b. A small flag flown at the bow of a ship, usually to indicate nationality.
- The male of certain animals, especially the ass.
- Any of several food and game fishes of the family Carangidae, found in tropical and temperate seas.
- A jackrabbit.
- A socket that accepts a plug at one end and attaches to electric circuitry at the other.
- Slang Money.
- Applejack.
- Slang A small or worthless amount: You don't know jack about that.
- To hunt or fish for with a jacklight: hunters illegally jacking deer.
- a. To move or hoist by or as if by using a jack: jacked the rear of the car to replace the tire.b. To raise (something) to a higher level, as in cost: “Foreign producers jacked up the price on some steels by over 100%” (Forbes).
- Baseball To hit (a pitched ball) hard, especially for a home run.
Origin:
Origin: From the name Jack
Origin: , from Middle English Jakke
Origin: , possibly from Old French Jacques
Origin: , from Late Latin Iacōbus; see Jacob
Origin: . N., sense 15, short for jack shit
.Related Forms:
- jackˈer noun
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