noun pl. jacks, jack

1. John
2. 1. Obsolete a common fellow or boy assistant
   2. a man or boy; fellow: sometimes used as a slang form of address
   3. Now Rare a sailor; jack-tar
   4. ☆ a lumberjack
   5. a jack-of-all-trades
3. 1. bootjack
   2. Monterey Jack
   3. smokejack
4. a fruit-flavored alcoholic liquor, as applejack
5. any of various machines used to lift, hoist, or move something heavy a short distance hydraulic jack, automobile jack
6. a wooden bar attached to each key of a harpsichord, etc. that raises the plectrum when the key is depressed
7. a male donkey; jackass
8. ☆ jack rabbit
9. any of various birds, as a jackdaw
10. 1. any of a tropical, marine family (Carangidae) of predatory, silvery, percoid, game and food fishes with widely forked tails, including the pompanos and yellowtails
    2. jackfish
11. ☆ Slang money
12. Elec. a plug-in receptacle used to make electrical contact
13. Games
    1. a playing card with a conventionalized picture of a royal male servant or soldier on it; knave
    2. a small ball used as the center mark in lawn bowling
    3. any of the small stones or six-pronged metal pieces used in playing jacks
14. ☆ Hunting a torch or light used to attract fish or game at night
15. Naut. a small flag usually flown on a ship's bow to show nationality, often, specif., union jack

Etymology: ME Jacke, Jake < OFr Jaque, Jaques < LL(Ec) Jacobus, Jacob

transitive verb

1. to raise by means of a jack
2. ☆ to hunt or fish for with a light

adjective