n.
- often Jack Informal. A man; a fellow.
- One who does odd or heavy jobs; a laborer.
- One who works in a specified manual trade. Often used in combination: a lumberjack; a steeplejack.
- 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.
- 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.
- One of the metal pieces so used.
- Sports. A pin used in some games of bowling.
- A usually portable device for raising heavy objects by means of force applied with a lever, screw, or hydraulic press.
- A wooden wedge for cleaving rock.
- A device used for turning a spit.
- Nautical.
- A support or brace, especially the iron crosstree on a topgallant masthead.
- 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.
v., jacked, jack·ing, jacks. v.tr.
- To hunt or fish for with a jacklight: hunters illegally jacking deer.
- To move or hoist by or as if by using a jack: jacked the rear of the car to replace the tire.
- 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.
To hunt or fish for quarry by using a jacklight.
phrasal verb:
jack off Vulgar Slang.
- To masturbate.
[From the name Jack, from Middle English Jakke, possibly from Old French Jacques, from Late Latin Iacōbus. See Jacob. N., sense 15, short for JACK SHIT.]
jacker jack'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
